New leader sets goals
By Jennifer Kirksey Smith

Alumni Association Chair Bill Burke.

Ohio University Alumni Association Chair Bill Burke wants to see the association increase its visibility and reconnect with more of the University’s most effective ambassadors — its alumni.

To achieve those goals, Burke, DO ’88, says the association is assessing the effectiveness of its programs and initiatives and focusing on these five key areas:

• Raising funds for need- and merit-based scholarships through the 62 alumni chapters and 13 societies of alumni and friends.

• Encouraging alumni to aid in student recruitment and retention.

• Examining additional opportunities to provide lifelong learning and education to alumni through professional education or Alumni College offerings.

• Keeping alumni informed of new programs and initiatives so they can remain effective advocates for the University.

• Promoting a sense of community through fellowship and social activities, professional networking and community service in areas where alumni live.

Burke says members of the association’s board of directors, which consists of alumni from various colleges, eras and ethnic backgrounds, devote a great deal of time to University business.

“I am grateful for the time they take out of their personal lives to come here and serve,” says Burke, whose two-year term as chair began this past fall. “Their strength of character, diverse experiences and the way we gel and mesh as a group make coming back very exciting.”

As chair of the association, Burke holds an ex-officio position on the Ohio University Board of Trustees. The nonvoting position benefits the board, the association and the University.

“The seat on the board increases the visibility of the association among the University’s decision makers,” Burke says. “We also offer an alumni voice and are able to discuss the impact of the board’s decisions from a historical perspective.”

Burke’s passion for serving the University began when he was a student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he was heavily involved in the college’s student council. As an alumnus, he reconnected with his alma mater as a member of OU-COM’s advisory board and Society of Alumni and Friends.

“As a student, I made valuable connections because of my involvement in student organizations,” says Burke, who directs the family practice residency program at Doctors Hospital in Columbus. “I still use and cherish those connections to this day.”

Burke’s devotion to Ohio University is shared by his wife Deborah, BSCHE ’85, an involved alumna who received the Charles J. and Claire O. Ping Recent Graduate Award at Homecoming festivities this past fall. The couple and their two children, Lydia, 4, and Ross, 2, live in New Albany, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

Jennifer Kirksey Smith, BSJ ’98, is a media specialist with Ohio University Media Services.