HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Burke To Join Kennedy School as Executive Dean

Sheila Burke, who served for 10 years as chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS), has been named executive dean at the Kennedy School of Government, Dean Joseph S. Nye Jr. announced this week.

Working closely with the Dean and senior administrators, Burke will help direct the School's management strategy and teach courses, in addition to assisting with curriculum development and projects concerning the nature and role of government. Burke, whose appointment becomes effective Dec. 2, had been serving as a part-time adviser to the Dean while working as a senior consultant to the Dole for President campaign. "A 1982 Kennedy School graduate, Sheila has had a long association with the School, and it is our very great fortune to have her join us full-time now," said Nye. "Her experience in Washington, combined with her commitment to public service, make her an invaluable resource for all of us."

"I am thrilled to take on this new challenge," Burke said. "The Kennedy School is one of the nation's finest centers of excellence for people interested in public service, and for research about some of society's most challenging issues. I look forward to joining this dynamic community of scholars and practitioners."

Burke, 45, a nurse by training, has long been a power on Capitol Hill. She joined the office of Sen. Dole as a legislative assistant in 1977 and moved to the Senate Committee on Finance one year later. She became deputy staff director of the committee in 1982. In 1985, Burke became deputy chief of staff to the Republican leader, and Dole made her his chief of staff in 1986. As such, Burke was responsible for managing all aspects of the Leader's office, from staff oversight to the details of major Senate and welfare legislation. As Sen. Dole's principal staff person for health, welfare, and social security issues, Burke earned a reputation as one of America's most respected voices on health care reform.

Burke is currently an adjunct instructor at the Georgetown University Medical Center, and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing (1982), Marymount College's Graduate School of Business Administration (1982-83), and the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan (1978-80). Early in her career, she worked as a staff nurse in Berkeley, Calif., and was director of program and field services for the National Student Nurses Association in New York. Burke began her association with the Kennedy School in 1980 as a research assistant in the School's Center for Health Policy and Management (since renamed the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy).

She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the School in 1982, and chaired the School's national Alumni Council for several years. She served on the Kennedy School's Visiting Committee from 1986 to 1992, and again from 1993 to 1996. She has also been a member of the Advisory Board of the Wiener Center since 1988. A native of California, Burke earned a B.S. in nursing at the University of San Francisco in 1973. She is married and has three children.