Dr. Jack D. Burke, Chancellor
Dr. Jack D. Burke has been at Penn State Behrend since 1981, having served as senior associate provost and senior associate dean prior to being named to head the college in 2001.
As Penn State Behrend's chief academic and administrative officer, he is responsible for the college's academic programs in teaching, research and service in addition to campus operations, strategic planning and budgeting, and marketing and fundraising.
In the Erie community, Jack represents Penn State Behrend in numerous leadership roles, including serving as a member of the board of directors of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, for which he chairs the Economic Development Committee, and the board of directors of the United Way of Erie County. He is also a corporator and past member of the board of trustees of Hamot Health Foundation.
Before coming to Penn State Behrend, Jack served as a faculty member and as associate dean at the State University of New York’s Empire State College, where he was in charge of academic affairs for the College’s Buffalo Regional Center. As a faculty member at Empire State, he was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Jack holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the State University College at Oswego, N.Y., and earned his master’s degree and Ph.D., both in geography, from SUNY at Buffalo. In 1986, he earned a certificate from Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management. He is the author of more than thirty journal articles and conference presentations.
Jack and his wife, Candy, have two adult children and live in Erie.