Memorial services
11 a.m. Saturday, visitation afterward
Grace Episcopal Church
Richard Burkhardt, a former acting president of Ball State, is remembered by faculty members for his dedication to the university and his compassion.
He died Tuesday morning in Muncie at the age of 95, a little more than a month after his wife of 27 years died.
Burkhardt came to Muncie in 1952 to work at Ball State. From 1978-1979, Burkhardt was the acting president of Ball State.
Bruce Geelhoed, a history professor, said he worked with Burkhardt in the history department for about 10 years.
“He was a perfect gentleman,” he said. “He was considerate, he was thoughtful and he was very perceptive.”
Geelhoed said the plaque in the Burkhardt Building describes him well. The plaque says Burkhardt was a “gentle, compassionate, effective administrator who contributed immeasurably to the development of Ball State.”
John Barber, a professor emeritus of history, said he remembers Burkhardt for his humble personality.
“He was the kind of person who even at the highest level of academics would still come down and talk with you,” Barber said. “He came in and talked to me like an equal.”
The first day Burkhardt started teaching again after his presidency, Barber said Burkhardt came into his office and starting asking for teaching advice.
“It honored me that he would ask for my advice on the classes we both taught,” he said. “I felt very complimented. … It was like he told me [that] my teaching was great without him telling me. That was the way he acted, as though we were equals.”
Barber said Burkhardt’s presence at Ball State made it the ideal teaching situation for him.
“He did so much to keep history alive,” Barber said. “It was better here than I could have possibly imagined because of that.”
He said they had a lot of teaching methods and mutual values in common.
“I used unorthodox methods that he supported,” Barber said. “We both wanted to find a way to make the history we were teaching come to life.”
He said because Burkhardt was so supportive of his teaching methods, it made them closer.
Geelhoed said the thing about Burkhardt that impressed him the most was his loyalty to Ball State.
“He always talked Ball State up in public forums,” Geelhoed said. “He was always optimistic that the next day would be better than the previous one. In terms of a public perception, he was always very much the optimistic type leader, without being showy and in all the wrong ways.”
Burkhardt worked in administration for so long that Geelhoed said his knowledge about higher education at schools like Ball State helped him lead.
Burkhardt was there when Ball State made the transition away from being a teachers college.
“I believe he was able to see where some opportunities were and if those opportunities made sense for Ball State as a university,” Geelhoed said.
Burkhardt retired in 1985, the same year that the former Science Hall building was renovated and renamed to honor him.
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