Burke Named 2009 Tullio Award Recipient
The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (ERCGP) has announced Dr. John D. “Jack” Burke, chancellor of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, as the 2009 Louis J. Tullio Community Service Award recipient.
Burke, who first joined the college in 1981 and has led Penn State Behrend since 2001, will be honored during the ERCGP’s Celebration of Excellence dinner and awards ceremony on April 16 at the Bayfront Convention Center. The evening begins with a reception hour at 5:30 p.m.; a steak and shrimp dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
Throughout the years, Burke has served in numerous leadership roles in the Erie community. He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the ERCGP, serves on the organization’s Executive Committee, and chairs the ERCGP’s Economic Development Committee, which is charged with business retention, expansion and attraction.
Burke serves as a member of the Board of Directors of United Way of Erie County. He is also a corporator and past member of the Board of Trustees of Hamot Health Foundation, having served on the Audit and Governance committees.
Previously, Burke was president of the Board of Directors of the Enterprise Development Center for Erie County and served on its Civic Coordinating Committee. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Achievement Center and served on the Harborcreek Township Bicentennial Committee.
Burke has also helped to shape initiatives at Penn State Behrend that benefit the Erie community and position the college as a regional asset. Penn State Behrend currently has eight research and outreach centers that support economic development in the region, and is actively involved in technology transfer and commercialization efforts as well.
Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the State University of New York at Oswego and earned his master’s degree and Ph.D., both in geography, from SUNY’s University at Buffalo. He also earned a certificate from Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.
Named after the late Louis J. Tullio, mayor of the City of Erie for more than 30 years, the Tullio Community Service Award recognizes a person or persons who have performed outstanding service by actively using abilities, initiative, resources and energies to sustain and improve the Erie region for present and future generations. The ERCGP’s Board of Directors selects the nominees and winners.
Previous winners include Edward P. “Ted” Junker III, a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees and Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, Thomas B. Hagen, a member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, and Dr. John M. Lilley, past provost and dean of Penn State Behrend. They were honored with the Tullio Community Service Award in 2002, 1995, and 1993, respectively.
For ticket information, visit http://events.eriepa.com or call 814-454-7191.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 34 bachelor’s, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,600 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams and 19 intramural sports. Penn State Behrend is named in recognition of a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.