Dr. Harold Burke (interview); Creator: Burke, Dr. Harold; Interviewer(s): Jim MacDonald and Matt Smith; Interview location: unknown; Running time: 70 min., May 5, 1992

Coverage: 1965-1992
Topics discussed : (side A): Positions held; Dean of Student Affairs (1965; 1976); Professor of Psychology (1976; 1984); Adjunct professor in psychology since 1984; Dean of Student Affairs; in charge of departments that dealt w/ students; always had interaction w/ students; believed in students came first; Teaching; enjoys teaching students; Student committees; Change in students; business program didn't exist when he first came; addition added business; minded students; most who came wanted to be teachers; mostly female students; more foreign students began coming in; Foreign students; process of admitting them into college; some difficulties in understanding them because of language; European students came from more heavily book oriented culture; many who worked needed a special work visa to do so and many found they needed to because of exchange rates; some returned after graduating while others stayed; he had a great relationship w/ foreign students; Dr. Haas and relationship w/ students; she had a great relationship w/ students; students came first and established his role of Dean of Student Affairs; Dr. Feldman; business man and was Dean of Business School prior to president role; didn't spend as much time w/ students like Dr. Haas did (nor did Bersi); Type of president for college; need someone who can work well w/ upper level state personnel; business; minded isn't necessarily most important; Vietnam; some reaction was seen on campus, but more milder (mostly women); he came from UConn where reaction was very much seen; reaction wasn't as large or extreme; one time students tried to stop military recruiters from coming in; Racial tensions; complained about being denied equal opportunity; black students had demonstrations about their complaints; he advised hiring someone who could serve as advisor for these students; he suggested that the black students should get a room of their own in the student union (they formed the Afro; American CluB): they made him honorary lifetime member of the club; Gale Alexander; advised him to allow demonstrations to be held in student union; Sensitivity training; part of a national movement; help people to become aware of themselves and about others; did things off campus, had meetings on campus, etc.; always tries to show these things in his classes; Dean to professor; gave up being Dean of Student Affairs in 1976; decided he had enough and wanted to teach; went into psychology department; he kept on doing his work w/ foreign students until his retirement in 1984; Studies skills program; Watergate and Vietnam; some reaction to Nixon's involvement in Watergate; Vietnam War had a more profound impact; Westside; he was heavily involved in planning; initial plans were to move everything over there; budget prevented the move from happening; he visited schools for ideas about designs for the Westside; Courtland was the biggest inspiration for them; he designed 5th floor to the classroom building currently there (it was suppose to be a psychological observation building); Classroom building; they didn't choose that building; state picked it and told them to vote on it; they voted to keep it because they feared voting against it would delay getting any building at all; One campus; not sure if Westside only will ever happen; has taken 20 years to get 3 buildings (side B): His teaching career; taught eleven years at UConn; taught at Springfield College for about seven years; Dean of Student Affairs at WestConn for eleven years and taught full; time for eight years; Diversity of students; more older students coming in; began teaching shortly after WW II, many men returning to college under GI Bill; more women than men at Western (Springfield was opposite) when he first came here; increase in number of students; Dr. Harold Case; was president at Boston University when he was there; considers him the best president he worked for; Commuter school; Dorms; in beginning, no dorms for men; had plan to make Newbury Hall co; ed, but Dr. Haas objected at first; she told him later okay, but it was his responsibility; Fairfield Hall remained only female; Litchfield eventually became co; ed; many foreign students had no place to stay w/ women only dorms in beginning until men allowed in dorms; Foreign students; keeps in touch w/ many former foreign students; many stayed w/ him while they went to WestConn; Rewards of work; students and faculty relationships; started out teaching, then became Dean of Student Affairs before going back into teaching again