Joseph C. Burke is director of the Higher Education Program and a Senior Fellow at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, and professor of higher education policy and management at the State University of New York. After receiving his Ph.D. in history from Indiana University, Dr. Burke taught for 12 years. He served as president of the Sate University of New York at Pittsburgh for 12 years, followed by 9 years as provost and vice chancellor for academic affair and 1 year as interim chancellor of the State University of New York System. While Provost, he also held the post of president of the State University of New York Research Foundation, the Fiscal agent for all research grants and contracts in the SUNY System. Dr. Burke was also a consultant with the Center for Public Higher Education Trusteeship and Governance at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities ad Colleges. In 2005, he served as an advisor to the State Higher Education Executive Officers National Commission on Accountability.
Dr. Burke has consulted, written and lectured on a wide array of topics in higher education, including the role of college and university presidents, system governance, accountability and autonomy in higher education, outcomes assessment, and performance reporting, budgeting, and funding. He has published more than 60 books, monographs, and articles on these subjects. His most recent book, which he edited and coauthored, is Achieving Accountability in Higher Education: Balancing Public, Academic, and Market Demands (2005, Jossey-Bass). The Henry Luce Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Ford Foundation have awarded him grants for national studies of the budgeting, reporting, accountability, and performance of public university systems and state colleges and universities. The Ford Foundation supported the preparation of this present book.