Alumni Advocates of the Year

James L. Burke
California State University, Bakersfield

James L. Burke or Jim Burke, as he was known personally and professionally, received his honorary doctorate degree from CSU Bakersfield in 1997. He was the chairman of the Burke Automotive Group and a prominent philanthropist and Kern County civic leader.

Since 1949, following service in the Navy and graduation from Stanford University, Mr. Burke has been associated with the automobile business in Bakersfield, guiding Jim Burke Ford to become the third largest dealership in California with nearly 400 employees and sales in excess of $150 million. Mr. Burke was known as much for his business prowess as his philanthropic activities, and his lifelong goal was to improve the quality of life in Bakersfield.

He served as a founding director and past chairman of the Cal State Bakersfield Foundation. He was a leading donor a fundraising volunteer. Prior to becoming an alumnus, Mr. Burke was honored by CSUB as an Outstanding Friend of the University and Outstanding Friend of the School of Education.

Outside of his responsibilities at the dealership Mr. Burke was a passionate advocate for advancing the causes of health, education and opportunities for youth to excel in Bakersfield. In the mid 1970's Mr. Burke recognized a need for improving the reputation of the business community in the eyes of America's youth. His concern led to the founding of the "Ford Dimension" program that allowed a small group of achieving local high school seniors to take an inside look at his businesses, meet with local civic leaders and volunteer their time helping others. In 1994, its alumni established the Jim Burke Education Foundation to continue his vision of improving education through a relationship with the local business community.

Although Mr. Burke passed away in 2006, the CSUB Alumni Association voted unanimously to honor this dedicated advocate for education posthumously to recognize his many years of support for a strong CSUB delegation at CSU Legislative Day. For over 12 years prior to his death and continuing through this year, Burke Air has donated the use of a private plane and pilot to transport a group of six local community and CSUB leaders to Sacramento for Legislative Day.