Raymond M. Burse is a college administrator, Harvard educated lawyer, and businessman who served two terms as the ninth and fourteenth President of

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons ...

. Burse attended

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

where he majored in chemistry and mathematics. He was initiated into

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

- The National Leadership Honor Society in 1972. His first tenure at Kentucky State University took place from 1982 to 1989, and his second tenure took place from 2014 until his resignation on May 23, 2016. He is known for taking a $90,000 a year pay cut from his $350,000 salary so that his fellow employees could be paid a

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

. Burse spent a decade as a senior executive at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

. He is from

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...

, Kentucky, and resides in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. Burse is currently serving on the board of trustees of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

, after being appointed by Kentucky Governor

Matt Bevin Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky, from 2015 to 2019. He was the third Republican elected Kentucky governor since World War II, after Ernie Fletc ...

. Burse was awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

and studied at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

for two years. He was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to compete in an Oxford vs. Cambridge rugby match. He played wing for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

which lost 16–15. His achievement earned him a mention in '' Faces in the Crowd'' in the January 27, 1975 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. He is the father of three sons, the oldest of whom is

Ray Burse Ray Burse, Jr. (born October 2, 1984 in Prospect, Kentucky) is an American former soccer player. Career College and amateur Burse attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and played college soccer at Ohio State University. His ...

.Brandon, Steve. "Academics came first for Timber goalie," ''Portland Tribune'', April 14 2008.
Retrieved December 8, 2020 In 2016 Burse was honored with the Laurel Crowned Circle Award, the highest award from Omicron Delta Kappa.

References

African-American academics American academic administrators Centre College alumni General Electric employees Harvard Law School alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Kentucky State University faculty Living people Oxford University RFC players Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people {{AfricanAmerican-stub