Department of Construction Management
Visiting Assistant Professor
Phone: 828-227-2545
Email: gburke@email.wcu.edu
Office Address: Belk 116
Education:
- M.B.A., Southern Methodist University
- B.S., Auburn University
About Gary Burke:
Gary Burke has a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction, a Master of Business Administration, and over 25 years experience in commercial and residential construction. He has been a North Carolina Licensed General Contractor since 1994, owning and operating a company specializing in custom residential mountain homes and structural concrete systems for 12 years. Prior to starting his own business he worked for 15 years in commercial construction.
While obtaining his degree at Auburn University he was accepted into the cooperative education program and worked with Blount International, a commercial contractor ranked in the ENR top 20. Although his initial assignment was in the estimating department, the diversity of the co-op program allowed him to work in scheduling and field assignment. Additionally, he was inducted into Sigma Lambda Chi, the National Construction Honorary Society.
At graduation Burke accepted a job with Blount and was assigned a field position in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a member of the construction management team building a $2.5 billion university. At that time, the project was the largest fixed price contract in construction history. Upon completing his assignment Burke accepted a project management position in Dallas Texas with a commercial contractor. Soon he was offered a position as construction manager with a real estate development firm. Prior to his arrival the company relied on turnkey contracts for completion of projects. Burke was instrumental in setting up the company’s construction operations, allowing them in-house control for developing properties, building structures, and completing detailed tenant finish-out.
Burke recalls his interest in the construction industry in the 1960’s when his uncle was a heavy highway contractor constructing portions of America’s interstate highway system. In high school his favorite subjects were mechanical drawing and industrial arts. Burke developed an interest in teaching in 2000 when he designed and taught extension courses at Southwestern Community College on “The Common Sense Approach to Construction.” Burke says hearing from students who took his course and successfully completed their project was utmost rewarding. Burke is pleased to be part of the faculty team that delivers the construction management program and looks forward to sharing his knowledge and experience with others.