Written by Kim Kokernot
As the face of “Burksday” and the inspiration behind last year’s “Burksy’s” themed talent show, Dr. David Burks is a president who is respected and loved by the student body. But few students have the opportunity to really get to know the man who has spent his adult life shaping and inspiring those at Harding.He has held the title of student association president, Dean of the College of Business and has spent the last 23 years as President. The father of two and grandfather of five has traveled to every overseas program, has helped design buildings on campus and is a reassuring face on the Benson stage each morning. As he nears retirement, Dr. Burks took time to reflect on his plans for the future, his career as president and his life as a Harding student.What did you do for fun while you were a student?I was photographer for the Petit Jean and the Bison. I had a ball doing that. I took pictures for social clubs, athletics, events — that’s how I paid my way through college. I spent a lot of my time in the dark room, a lot of time with people taking pictures. I was SA president my senior year, and I loved that experience. It was a learning, growing experience. And I was president of my club, Beta Phi Kappa. It doesn’t exist anymore, but back then it was a big club.Were you ever a club beau?I was a beau for Zeta Rho after I became a faculty member. My wife was a sponsor and I attended all of their functions for 20 years, so they made me a beau.How did you propose to your wife?I proposed to my wife on campus in either the SA office or the Petit Jean office. She would kill me for not remembering, but it was one of those.Did you get down on one knee?I did. The office was the only place that we could go where it was private. On this campus back then, there were lights everywhere—just wire with light bulbs everywhere, behind every bush—just lights everywhere. So the office was a private place. But back then, it wasn’t nearly the deal that it is today. Today, there are productions. I heard about all that my two sons went through when they proposed, how spectacular it was. And I thought “All I did was ask her to marry me!”Now let’s turn to your life today. What’s the best thing about being president?Working with students and faculty. It may sound like a trite statement, but that’s really what’s best about it. Whenever you get discouraged, just go spend some time with students and you’ll feel better. It’s a very encouraging campus with wonderful students.What’s the hardest thing about your job?When people disagree, when there’s a controversy that might deal with a student or faculty member, or a disciplinary situation — that’s the hardest part.Do you know when you will retire?I haven’t made a firm decision, but it will be in the not-that-distant future.If you could swap jobs with anyone in the whole world for a day, who would you switch with?I wouldn’t. I’ve thought about that before. I’ve had opportunities to go other places, but I wouldn’t change my position with that of any other position in the world. I think that I have been given the perfect opportunity and the perfect job. I wouldn’t trade with anyone.What was your childhood dream job?My childhood dream job was to be an architect. The way in which that has come to play at Harding is that as we have grown over the last many years, I’ve been able to work with our architect a lot and I’ve been able to do the parts of it that I like — which is the dreaming and thinking about how things fit together.What are some funny memories that you and Leah have from living on campus?We loved living on campus, but we moved in anticipation of retiring and because we needed to own our own house. The best part of living on campus was that students would constantly knock on the front door. It was for silly things, and it was for serious things. Sometimes they simply wanted to study the Bible. Most of the time it would be some social club stopping on a scavenger hunt. I loved meeting lots of students in that context. We had a big bison by the garage, and periodically clubs would try to steal it, but it was so heavy they couldn’t do it. But I could tell they had tried.Do you have any pets?My wife has a dog. Well, we have a dog. The dog belongs to my wife. Her name is Samantha, she runs the house. She is a Yorkshire Terrier, and thinks she is bigger than anyone in the world. She will pay attention to me if Leah is not there, but if Leah’s there, I do not exist.What is your favorite spot on campus?My favorite spot on campus would without a doubt be the McInteer fountain. I helped design that fountain. Its design is based on a baptistry in Ephesus. I took pictures of that place in Ephesus and gave them to Mike Steelman. The steps that go down into the fountain—where a lot of people have been baptized over the years—have exactly the same dimensions as the baptistry in Ephesus. I love that point on campus because of that historical significance back to when people were baptized in Ephesus.
