Ambrose Burke

Ambrose J. Burke
An older man dressed in Roman Catholic priestly garb holds two books in his hands, which he has folded in front of him, and stares at the camera with a neutral look on his face.
Ambrose Burke, date unknown
Born(1895-11-27)November 27, 1895
DiedOctober 6, 1998(1998-10-06) (aged 102)
NationalityAmerican
Known for8th President of Saint Ambrose University

Monsignor Ambrose J. Burke (November 27, 1895 – October 6, 1998) was an English professor and Catholic priest who served as the eighth president of Saint Ambrose University (then Saint Ambrose College) from 1940 through 1956. A native of Iowa, he attended the college's high school program, and then the college itself, but was expelled from the seminary for a year and a half by the school's administrator for planning an evening of carousing. He eventually acquired a master's degree and a doctorate in English from Yale University and returned to St. Ambrose in 1921 as an instructor. He was appointed the school's president in 1940 and served for sixteen years, then the longest tenure of any St. Ambrose president. He worked as a pastor and a chaplain for many decades after and remained active until shortly before his death in October 1998, at the age of 102.