2001 Employer of the Year
James Burke
James
Burke, former manager of technical recruiting and university relations for
Rohm and Haas, is not your typical retiree.
“You’ve got to have a purpose,” he says between trips to Massachusetts and California for teaching engagements. “When you don’t have a purpose, you stop moving. And when you stop moving, you should worry.”
At Rohm and Haas, a specialty chemicals manufacturer, Burke directed the recruitment of technical staff, managed all campus recruiting programs and budgeting for scientists and engineers, provided interview training for technical recruiters, and advised hiring managers on recruiting strategies. He also chaired the company’s committee for external technology, which coordinates external technical relations (ETR), and coauthored and edited Rohm and Haas’s ETR Best Practices manual.
Burke previously served as a Rohm and Haas manager in research recruiting and university relations, corporate information security/research security, and also as a senior research scientist and recruiting supervisor.
In April, he capped a distinguished 35-year career with the company. That same month, he was named 2001 Employer of the Year by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Burke merited this honor for his contributions to the college relations and recruiting profession through years of service, commitment to the professional associations, advocacy of the college relations field, and the mentoring of other professionals.
“Jim has always been generous with his gifts of time and talent,” says Muriel Stone, former director of career services at the University of Northern Iowa, who nominated Burke as Employer of the Year. “He has a rich mixture of experience, and everyone gained much information and experience because of his insights.”
“Jim Burke has spent 24 years in technical recruiting and university relations and eight years in industrial chemical research,” says James Reder, of NACE’s Awards Committee. “During that time Jim distinguished himself both as an effective leader and as a mentor to the many students whose lives he touched.”
Burke is a published author, public speaker, European patent holder, and the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1998 American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Award for Outstanding Service. He has been active in many professional associations, including the ACS (elected chairman of the Philadelphia chapter in 1989), Philadelphia Organic Chemists Club, the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, St. Joseph’s University Chemistry Advisory Committee, and the Midwest Association of Colleges & Employers (MidwestACE). He recently served on the NACE Board of Directors, and on its Finance Committee, Alumni Leadership Project Team, and Principles for Professional Conduct Committee.
Burke was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia University, obtained his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California-Berkeley while a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, and earned his B.S. from Spring Hill College.
For all his achievements, Burke has one regret. “I wish I’d gotten involved with NACE and MidwestACE much sooner. I’ve never been a part of such a generous, fun, hard-working bunch. It would have been great to have had more years with them, to make great things happen.”
He says he was “stunned and elated” when he learned he’d
been named Employer of the Year. “This is a capstone event in my career.
I didn’t expect it, and it’s something I’ll treasure forever.”
