The President's Office

Dr. Michael L. Burke
Ninth President of Milwaukee Area Technical College

Dr. Michael L. Burke was named the ninth president of Milwaukee Area Technical College by the District Board on January 6, 2010.

Dr. Burke has more than 25 years of experience in community colleges in Texas, Idaho and California. He was named President of San Jose City College in March 2007. While at San Jose City College, he has been engaged in a major rebuilding program that has resulted in numerous new educational facilities on campus. SJCC experienced 16 percent growth in enrollment from 2007-2009 and Burke spearheaded quality improvements to the college's instructional program and student support services.

From 1998 to 2007, he served as President of North Idaho College, located in Coeur d'Alene, where he provided educational services to an 8,000-square mile service area in the northern panhandle of Idaho. While there, he created three outreach centers to serve the remote populations of the region and he was instrumental in establishing the Northern Idaho Center for Higher Education (NICHE) in collaboration with the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College.Dr. Burke spent 13 years (1985-1998) at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas, which is part of the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD). He served as the Chair of Communications and Developmental Studies Division, Dean of Educational Resources, Interim Dean of Career and Continuing Education, and Vice President of Finance and Planning. He also served as President of the Texas Association of Developmental Educators.

He began his career as a full-time faculty member at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville, Texas, where he taught English. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC); co-chaired the AACC Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and is presently serving as the Chairman of the AACC Presidents Academy Executive Committee.

Dr. Burke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) in English and a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Houston; a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin; and certificates of completion from Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management and the League for Innovation's Executive Leadership Institute. He also has completed coursework at the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University and was a 2008 Southern Poverty Law Center Wall of Tolerance Honoree.

He is an active community member, serving on the boards of the Mexican American Community Service Agency, the Center for Employment and Training, and the Lincoln High School Foundation, all in San Jose; and the Kootenai County (Idaho) Task Force on Human Rights, Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Chamber of Commerce, and United Way of Kootenai County. He also is a member of the San Jose Rotary Club.

MATC Office of the President
Downtown Milwaukee Campus
700 West State Street
Room M200
414-297-6322