Dr. John Burd


	John Burd: An Educator with Vision by John W. Jacobs Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Brenau University. In the 17 years since Dr. John S. Burd came to Brenau, we have all been beneficiaries of this educator of vision. He came to Brenau and transformed the campus, both physically and academically. The Burd administration took Brenau from a small women's college to a university with unlimited potential. The Board of Trustees believes his leadership and vision made this and much more possible. In 1985 John Burd was one of ten finalists to appear before a presidential search committee. All ten candidates were highly qualified educators; but Dr. Burd was the one who most impressed the committee as a visionary. How fortunate we were to convince both Pat and Jack Burd to move to Gainesville for him to become the eighth president of Brenau. His immediate challenges were to improve the institution's financial position, increase the endowment and address the need of a new library, mandated by recommendations from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.	Dr. John S. Burd President 1986-2005, Brenau University The John S. Burd Center for the Performing Arts
	Jack's inaugural project was to construct a new library. He confidently turned to the trustees for support and involved people who believed in Brenau and shared his vision. The Brenau Trustee Library, a $3.2 million structure financed entirely through donations, opened its doors for students, faculty and the entire Northeast Georgia community in 1988. A newly renovated Simmons Visual Arts Center, financed totally through donations, opened in 1991. The center and Jack's passion for the arts benefited the university more than any of us dreamed possible. By the time Simmons opened, Jack had attracted to Brenau the world's most influential modern art dealer and collector, New Yorker Leo Castelli. This relationship brought a number of internationally-renowned artists to exhibit at Brenau - Robert Rauchenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and other pop artists - as well as attracting Mr. Castelli to be an active trustee until his death in 2000.	Strong academic programs and exceptional facilities are Jack's vision. Through the years, he supervised the purchase of property adjacent to the campus. Campus improvements under his supervision include a renovated gymnasium and natatorium complex, a new student center, modernized campus residential halls and academic buildings. His fiscal leadership and ability to encourage university support not only paid for campus improvements but also has increased the university's endowment from $2.5 million to more than $50 million. Along the way and by design, the faculty has become one of the best in the Southeast with over 95 percent being Ph.Ds or terminally degreed in their fields. Brenau`s Board of Trustees approved another of Dr. Burd`s visionary projects in 2000; a new performing arts center that would meet a variety of campus art and classroom needs and include an additional auditorium. As the building took shape, the trustees were in enthusiastic and unanimous concurrence that this was the proper time to show our appreciation to this educator with vision. Because of his commitment to the arts, his dedication and vision for Brenau University and Northeast Georgia, the Board of Trustees, joined by a grateful campus and community, is honored to name Brenau's new performing arts center the John S. Burd Center for the Performing Arts.