The BSU Torch Burns Brighter, Higher
Bowie State University President Mickey Burnim to Retire June 2017
There would never have been a welcome time to see Bowie State University President Mickey L. Burnim decide to step away from the University. However by all accounts, he has made that decision.
Burnim announced plans to retire at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2017, capping a 40-year career in higher education and nearly 11 years at the helm of Bowie State. The announcement comes as Bowie State welcomes its largest-ever freshman class.
“It has been a tremendous journey of service through my career of teaching and leading, but the time has come for me to transition to spending more time enjoying my family and serving the higher education and broader communities in more focused and limited ways,” Burnim said in an announcement at the university’s Fall Matriculation Convocation and a letter to the campus community. Today, Bowie State also formally inducted its largest-ever freshman class of 950 students after graduating a record 1,180 students in the 2015-2016 academic year, a 27 percent increase since Burnim became president in September 2006.
Burnim committed to maintaining a focus on institutional improvement through the remainder of the year, identifying a focus on three key initiatives: raising funds to establish the university’s first endowed chair, establishing an office of international programs, and launching the cybersecurity national workforce training pilot with the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “Solidifying the foundations to support faculty innovations, international experiences for students and our position as a leader in meeting the national demand for cybersecurity professionals is critical to assuring that Bowie State continues on the path to greatness in a changing world,” Burnim said.
Among the accomplishments under Burnim’s watch is the opening of the new $70 million performing arts center, the development of the new math and science building and his guidance of the university through the celebration of its sesquicentennial year (150).
His tenure at Bowie State has also been marked by steady progress toward becoming one of the best comprehensive university’s in the nation. The university has experienced significant increases in regional and national recognition, transformation of teaching and research environments across the campus, and expansion of academic programs and opportunities for student research. A positive enrollment trend and a focus on student success have resulted in the significant growth in the annual number of graduates.
President Burnim’s leadership has help the university to reach higher academic goals and to lock in a more prominent presence and influence in the state of Maryland and county community. He leaves the eternal flame at BSU brighter and higher thane ever.
