USD Magazine, 1993 Winter-Spring 1994

At orientation each fall, Burke helps ease the transition for new students and their parents.

"Barbara and I have fun. We have a lot of laughs," he says, smiling at the mention of her name. Some of that laughter revolves around Tom's love of cooking. "Well, Barbara says I love to cook, but what she really means is that I love to eat, and if I didn't cook, I'd never get to eat," he chuckles. "I swear Barbara would buy a house with no kitchen! She's just waiting for food to come out in pill form." Barbara Burke, a counselor in USD's career services office, readily admits that she doesn't like to cook, but is quick to compliment her husband's culinary skills. "His lasagna is really quite good," she laughs. But she also believes cooking is a type of therapy for her husband. "It is something he can immerse himself in and maybe forget the problems he deals with on a daily basis," she says. Sister Helen Lorch, RSCJ, a retired USD history professor and longtime Burke friend, believes Barbara's strength and love keep Tom going when times get especially tough. "They are the most well-balanced, loving couple I have ever met. They really are like a team." That team has raised four children of their own, so their par– enting experiences naturally spill over into their jobs. "When Tom gives that speech on opening day to the incoming fresh– man parents, you can see the recognition on their faces," Sister Furay says. "They see that he's talking from personal as well as professional experience." Burke's speech has achieved almost mythical status on campus. "That is a very intense, wrenching day for a lot of parents, so I just try to inject a little levity into the situation," he says with a grin. A "little levity" means informing parents that he knows exactly what their children will be doing in the following weeks: "They're going to call you and tell you the food is horrible and that we're systematically poisoning them. Well, let me tell you, there's nothing systematic about it."

NICEST MAN IN SHOE LEATHER Although he is quite a hit every year, Burke is the first to admit he's uncomfortable in the spotlight. "Tom doesn't like a lot of attention, so when we planned his 20th year celebration, we wanted it to be low-key," Bourne explains. At the celebration, Burke's staff presented him with an Irish crystal bowl decorated with an engraving of the Hahn Univer– sity Center. He's placed it on the far corner of his desk, where it catches the sun's rays as they come through the window. Perhaps even more meaningful for Burke was the book Bourne and Reed compiled containing letters from numerous friends and colleagues who expressed how much he meant to them. "I'm not a very emotional person," Burke says gruffly. "But reading those letters got to me." Father Dolan, a former USD campus minister, was one of the letter writers. "Tom stood by me during a very difficult time of my life, when I was struggling with alcoholism," he says. "I told him I would never forget that. His friendship, now and then, means a great deal to me." There's a chorus of voices to add to Father Dolan's - voices that describe Burke as "the nicest man in shoe leather," "the greatest guy on this campus," "the best boss in the world," and "a man with a heart as big as he is." But Burke will have none of it. Trying to explain away the compliments, he unwittingly hits on the very reason for the fuss. "Really, I'm just a simple man. I don't take myself too seriously and I don't take life too seriously. It's too short.... Life is about people and relationships and that's what you have to keep in mind."