Vincent Patrick Burke

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(August 3, 1878 – December 19, 1953) was a

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

educator and administrator and a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. He was born in St. Jacques, Newfoundland, to a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

family of Irish descent. He was educated at

St. Bonaventure's College St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adjacent to the Roman Cat ...

in St. John's. He worked as a teacher and, at 19, he was appointed principal of the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

. He was appointed Superintendent of Roman Catholic Schools in 1899. He pursued his studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and earned a doctorate.Dr. Vincent Patrick Burke
from ''The Nine Lives of Paton College'', by S.J. Carew, (1974) p.11-12 While studying in the US, he became the first Newfoundlander to become a licensed

school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Burke was a member of the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

's Council of Higher Education which was established in 1893 by members of the various religious denominations that operated schools in the province (there was no public school system) to facilitate the pursuit of post-secondary education by Newfoundlanders. As there was no university in Newfoundland, the CHE negotiated agreements with universities in

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the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to enable them to admit students from Newfoundland and created and oversaw a

Common Entrance Examination Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are se ...

by which high school graduates could establish their credentials for university admission. As Newfoundland's educational system ended at

Grade 11 Eleventh grade, 11th grade, junior year, or grade 11 (called Year 12 in Wales and England and fifth form in Jamaica) is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16–17 years of age, depending ...

, students wishing to pursue post-secondary education had to make up the equivalent of an extra year of education in their preparations for the exam. The CHE also oversaw the selection of Newfoundland's

Rhodes Scholars 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' ...

. However, as the island had no university, students selected as scholars lacked the two years of university that other Rhodes Scholars had, prompting complaints from the Rhodes Scholarship Committee. As a result, the CHE decided to establish a two-year college in St. John's. Burke was instrumental in the establishment of Memorial University College. In 1919, Burke, as superintendent of Catholic education on the island and his Methodist counterpart on the CHE, Levi Curtis, co-sponsored a resolution of the Patriotic Association urging the Newfoundland government to build a training school as a memorial to those who died during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As part of the CHE's effort to create the university, Burke arranged a grant of $300,000 from the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

. He was convenor of Memorial's first Board of Governors in 1925 when the college was established and was chairman of the board from 1936 to 1951. In 1920, the government of Sir

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed at ...

created Newfoundland's Department of Education and Burke was appointed Newfoundland's Deputy Minister of Education and worked to improve teacher training. He continued in the post of Deputy Minister until 1927 when he was named Secretary of Education"Ilsey, G.B. O'Connor Named Chief Justices of Nova Scotia, Alberta", ''Globe and Mail'', January 27, 1950 Burke was also chairman of the Newfoundland School Curriculum Commission from 1933 to 1934. He left the position of Secretary of Education in 1935 when he was appointed director of adult education in Newfoundland, a position he held until 1946. Burke was named to the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1917 for his work during

. He became an officer in the Order in 1931 and Commander in 1946. His work was also recognized by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

when he was knighted by the Pope in 1940. He was appointed to the Senate by

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...

on January 25, 1950, and served as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

senator until his death in late 1953 after having been ill for two years."Senator V.P. Burke - Nfld. Appointee, Former Educator", ''Globe and Mail'', December 21, 1953

References

External links

*
Vincent P. Burke (1878-1953)
portrait {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Vincent 1878 births 1953 deaths Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party of Canada senators Dominion of Newfoundland people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Columbia University alumni