David W. Burcham, who began a career in education more than 30 years ago, took over as interim president of Loyola Marymount University on June 1.
Burcham had served as acting president since March, when the university’s president, Robert B. Lawton, S.J., went on medical leave. Previously, Burcham was executive vice president and provost.
Father Lawton retired June 1. He became the 14th president of LMU in May 1999. Previously, Father Lawton had been dean of the college of arts and sciences at Georgetown University. The LMU Board of Trustees has initiated a nationwide search for his successor, which it expects to conclude by June 2011.
“I will build on the Jesuit and Marymount traditions of educating the whole person as well as fostering academic excellence,” said Burcham. “It is my particular privilege and a distinct honor to be entrusted with leading Loyola Marymount. I look forward to it.”
Burcham’s association with LMU has been long and successful. He graduated first in his class from Loyola Law School in 1984 and, after seven years in public and private practice, he returned to Loyola Law School and his first love – teaching. He was appointed senior vice president and dean of the law school in 2000, and served in that capacity until he was named LMU’s executive vice president and provost in 2008.
During his term as executive vice president and provost, Burcham championed academic excellence. He emphasized steady improvement in the quality and caliber of research and teaching at the university. “Striving towards excellence in academics, that is why we are here,” he said. In 2009-2010, LMU was named a “top producer” of Fulbright awards among institutions with master’s degree programs by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
As LMU’s chief operating officer, Burcham strengthened the university for the long term by overseeing the current $380 million capital fund drive and the 20-year Master Plan for future growth. Burcham has given priority to winning approval for the Master Plan, which creates the necessary entitlements for university expansion and growth. “It is critical in terms of setting the future direction of the university to have facilities and a campus that support academic excellence,” he said.
During his tenure as dean of the law school, Burcham forged strategic improvements in the curriculum. He oversaw a host of innovative programs, including the Business Law Practicum, the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy, the Legal Masters Program (LLM) in International Legal Practice, the London IP Institute and the Tax LLM program. Practical training programs became a hallmark of the curriculum under his stewardship. The Byrne Trial Advocacy Team won five national championships and he oversaw the creation of the National Civil Trial Competition, one of the country’s preeminent mock trial events.
Burcham is an authority on constitutional law, clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Byron White (1986-87) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for Chief Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert (1984-86), and was in private practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (1987-91).
A native of Los Angeles, Burcham earned a B.A. in political science from Occidental College in 1973 and an M.A. in education administration from Cal State Long Beach in 1978. Prior to attending law school, he was a teacher and administrator in Tustin and Long Beach from 1973 to 1981.