Okmulgee’s Fred Burks joins NSU Foundation Board

(Tahlequah, Oklahoma) -- C. Fred Burks is the newest member of the volunteer board of trustees for the Northeastern State University Foundation, Inc.

Burks is a 1969 graduate of NSU with a bachelor of science in mathematics. He received a master of business administration degree from Oklahoma State University in 1991, and was a 1994 graduate of the Federal Judicial Centers Management Institute for Mid-Level Court Executives.

For many years, Burks was the owner and operator of L.O. Hammons, Inc. clothing store. He served OMH Medical Center as assistant administrator for risk management. He later became the chief deputy clerk at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, from which he retired in 2016 after 26 years of service.

Burks brings years of experience and connections with other NSU alumni in the Okmulgee area and beyond, said Peggy Glenn, executive director of the NSU Foundation and a 1990 NSU graduate.

I met Fred and his wife Carolyn soon after I came to work at NSU in 2011. They have been very supportive of the NSU Foundation and our students for years, and now that Fred is retired from public service, he was recommended by several current trustees as a great candidate for the NSU Foundation board. Our full board agreed with that recommendation at our annual meeting in April, and Fred participated in his first board meeting in late July.

Burks is a long-time member of the Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce, an elder at Okmulgee First Christian Church and a 32nd Degree Mason. Because he is passionate about the value of education in his and others lives, he was a charter member of the Okmulgee Education Foundation and was named to 1999s 50 Most Influential People of Okmulgee by the Okmulgee Daily Times.

Created in 1971, the NSU Foundation is an Oklahoma charitable nonprofit that raises money exclusively to support the mission of NSU, which is to empower students, faculty, staff and the community to reach their full intellectual and human potential by creating and expanding a culture of learning, discovery and diversity.

The NSU Foundation currently holds assets totaling over $29 million and accepts donations from individuals, foundations and corporations that are used to support scholarships and programs benefiting many of NSUs more than 8,000 students at campuses in Tahlequah, Muskogee and Broken Arrow.