Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Frank and Elizabeth Burke, Doylestown, Pa., have made a $10 million gift to support the new building for the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University.

Building plans include 140,000 square feet of space featuring tiered classrooms, a large showcase lecture hall, computer labs, a financial research lab and an executive conference room. The plans include dedicated space for entrepreneurship and sales education, as well as space for study, collaboration and networking throughout the building. The goal is to deliver the brightest future possible for business students, including collaboration with industry and networking opportunities from the start of their college careers.

Frank Burke graduated from Kansas State University in 1955 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years and during his service he earned a master's degree in finance from the University of Colorado in 1960 and studied at the graduate level at the London School of Economics from 1962 to 1963. He co-founded and is the president and CEO of Burke, Lawton, Brewer & Burke, an investment management firm in the Philadelphia area. In 2011, he was named an alumni fellow for the College of Business Administration. Both Frank and Elizabeth Burke served as trustees of the Kansas State University Foundation.

Elizabeth Burke graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in dietetics and institutional management in 1955. She worked at Burke, Lawton, Brewer & Burke, and she volunteers with a variety of community organizations and foundations focusing on education and the environment.

"We were helped by others over the years, and we know we can do the same for others," Frank Burke said. "The building will be a gigantic step forward. K-State is becoming one of the great universities, and what we're starting to do now is just the beginning. We hope others will contribute what they can to help K-State reach the highest levels of success."

The Burkes are members of the KSU Foundation's President's Club, a philanthropic leadership organization for friends and alumni of the university. They established and fund five faculty chairs in physics, architectural engineering, the colleges of Business Administration and Human Ecology, and one for exceptional faculty at Kansas State University.

"Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of Frank and Elizabeth Burke, K-State business students for several generations will have a world-class center for business learning," said Ali Malekzadeh, Edgerley family dean of the College of Business Administration. "I respect and admire Frank and Elizabeth for the quiet impact they have had on so many young lives over the years at K-State. They provide scholarships for numerous students, have several faculty endowments and now are giving generously for the new CBA building. Through this magnificent gift, the Burkes are helping secure the academic environment needed for K-State business students to have every opportunity for professional success. I am truly grateful to Frank and Elizabeth for their gift."

"Frank and Elizabeth Burke's support of K-State through philanthropy has been invaluable," said Kirk Schulz, university president. "Their gift to the new business building will advance this project and propel us toward our goal of becoming a top 50 public research university by 2025. We are extremely grateful for all that Frank and Elizabeth do for K-State."

Philanthropic contributions to Kansas State University are coordinated by the KSU Foundation. The foundation staff works with university partners to build lifelong relationships with alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students through involvement and investment in the university.