BURKE, Fred G(eorge) 1926–2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born January 1, 1926, in Collins, NY; died of a pulmonary embolism March 11, 2005, in Newton, NJ. Educator, government official, and author. Though he also enjoyed a long and distinguished teaching career, Burke is most often remembered for his years as the commissioner of education for the states of Rhode Island and then New Jersey. A U.S. Army Air Forces veteran, he served in the military during World War II and the Korean War before completing his education. He held a bachelor's degree from Williams College, earned in 1953, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University, received in 1955 and 1958, respectively. During the late 1950s and 1960s Burke held various teaching posts. He was an associate professor of political science at Ohio Wesleyan University and he directed the school's Institute of Politics. At Syracuse University he was a professor and director of East African studies during the mid-1960s. Burke's interest in Africa led to several extended trips there; he was also a consultant to the Kenyan government in 1956, a United Nations consultant for the Economic Commission for Africa in 1968, and a training director for Peace Corps volunteers in East Africa. Returning to the United States, he served as dean of international studies and professor of social sciences and administration at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1968 until 1970. Burke was then selected by the governor of Rhode Island to head that state's department of education. For the next four years, he strove to eliminate the gap in equality of education between rich and poor districts, and he continued to do so when he was selected in 1974 to fill the same post for the state of New Jersey. Burke's term as commissioner of education for New Jersey was tumultuous because his policies for making educators and school administrators partially accountable for the success of their students met with resistance from both groups. Burke supported what became the state's first income tax, with much of the money earmarked for schools. Although student test scores showed improvement toward the end of Burke's term, he was removed from office in 1982 when a new governor was elected. Years later, in 1990, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Abbott v. Burke that the state must ensure that all school districts spend an equal amount on their students. Ironically, Burke was named the defendant in this suit because it was filed in 1981, while he was still in office, but he was actually pleased that the action was ruled against by the court. Leaving government bureaucracy behind, he was hired as the vice president of the University of Connecticut in 1982; ten years later, he accepted a post as senior fellow of the Phelps Stokes Fund. Burke was the author of several books on Africa, including Africa's Quest for Order (1964) and Sub-Saharan Africa (1968). He was also the author of Public Education: Who's in Charge? (1990).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, March 14, 2005, p. A21.

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), March 14, 2005, p. 11.