Burdick Receives Sandburg’s Distinguished Service Award
Aaron Frey
Thursday, May 17, 2018 8:12 PM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
Retired Carl Sandburg College instructor Dr. Norm Burdick was presented with the College’s Distinguished Service Award during the 50th annual Sandburg Commencement on Thursday evening.
Burdick taught English and speech at Sandburg from 1980 until his retirement in 2014. Born in the small Wisconsin town of Milton, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Carleton College before serving in the U.S. Army from 1970-72. He later earned his Master of Arts and, in 1979, his doctorate in English from the University of Wisconsin.
Burdick taught all of his 34 years in Galesburg except for the 1987-88 school year, when as part of the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program he taught at South Cheshire College in Crewe, England. He was named Sandburg’s Faculty Member of the Year in 2000.
Burdick was active in the union and in the College’s governance structure. As a speech teacher, he judged speech contests for several outside organizations. He was instrumental in creating both the first-day writing sample and what was then called the exit exam given to all Freshman Composition I students. He also played a leading role in the early days of student (now outcomes) assessment at the College and in the North Central Accreditation Report in 2000. Burdick also led the ad-hoc committee that developed Sandburg’s faculty mentoring program.
Burdick and his wife, Faith, moved to Galesburg together and have remained here since his retirement.
Carl Sandburg College Distinguished Service Award Recipients
2018 — Dr. Norm Burdick2017 — Jim Graham
2016 — Mary Robson
2015 — Elaine Long
2014 — Dorothy Appell
2013 — Larry Schroeder
2012 — Shirley Pritchard
2009 — Jetty Calvert, Carol Gronewold
2008 — Janet Hardine (LaDage), Wendel Hunigan
2007 — Tom Karjala, James MacDonald, Berniece Peterson
1997 — Joann Lundeen, Jack Daddona
1996 — Betsy Housh, Cleo Davis
1995 — Patricia Harrison, Carol Eiten, Tom Fuller
1993 — Martha LaDuke, JoAnne Goudie, Joan Rescinito
1990 — Genevieve Yaw, Art Williamson, Patricia Bivens
1986 — Ruth Torrence, William Masters, Bill Hungate