Kenneth BurnleyDr. Kenneth S. Burnley, former superintendent of schools for Fairbanks North Star Borough School District in Fairbanks, Alaska; former superintendent of schools for Colorado Springs, Colo.; and former chief executive officer for the Detroit Public Schools, is one of four finalists and the only African American being considered for the presidency of Eastern Michigan University.
Named National Superintendent of the Year by the American School Association of School Administrators in 1993 and Distinguished Educator recipient from Wayne State University’s College of Education Alumni Association in 2004, Burnley received his PhD specializing in education administration in 1977, an M.A. degree in 1969, and a B.A. undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1964.
Burnley knows the Ypsilanti school system and community well, having served as director of the Title VIII Program that facilitated the desegregation of the Ypsilanti Public Schools under his leadership early in his education career. He provided the concept for the world acclaimed Perry Child Development Center in Ypsilanti.
He has also served as principal, assistant principal and teacher in Ypsilanti as well as a teacher in Muskegon, Mich. He was an adjunct professor at Eastern Michigan University in the mid-1970s.
“I have always sought challenging cutting-edge educational assignments that uplift and upgrade,” said Burnley, who is currently a senior resident fellow and director of the Educational Leadership Center at the University of Michigan School of Education. At Michigan, he is part of a research team studying the impact of poverty on student achievement.
Detroit community leader Eleanor Josaitis, co-founder of Focus: HOPE, said, “He is a gentleman who is passionate about education. He is a consensus builder always willing to work with everyone. He would do well as president of Eastern Michigan University.”
This recipient of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) 2003 Humanitarian Award works quietly behind the scenes as a change agent.
Janna Garrison, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers while Burnley was Detroit Public Schools CEO, said, “We never had a strike under Dr. Burnley’s leadership. His open door policy, accessibility, and high regard for teachers are a part of his leadership skills that would benefit Eastern Michigan University instantly. In terms of timing, it was unfortunate that he came to Detroit under former Gov. John Engler’s Detroit Public School take-over. He met the difficult challenge.”
A parent leader in the Detroit public schools system said, “Part of Dr. Burnley’s administrative vision for the Detroit Public Schools was to create a parent unit for peer training in order to increase student achievement.”
Minnie Pierce, a parent leader who developed a parent welcome seminar that provided evening tutorials for parents and students, said, “His community outreach skills are excellent. Dr. Burnley believes in the whole village participating in the student’s learning experience.
“He aggressively expanded community organizations, business and faith-based partners as stakeholders in the Detroit Public Schools. I think he did a great job. He is an outstanding education leader.”
Vicki Thames, a current University of Michigan PhD candidate who relies on Dr. Burnley as a faculty/administrator advisor and mentor said, “Dr. Burnley is a research scholar with incredible student empathy. He is phenomenal in so many ways. He engages people at various levels of expertise and specialization to such an extent that he is a bridge between the world of scholarship and practice.
“Dr. Burnley is a problem solver and would make a great Eastern Michigan University president because he works tenaciously with divergent stakeholders to create an underlying consensus built common ground.”
