Ken Burke, CPA – Ken has a long history of involvement with community colleges. Like many community college students, Ken was a first-generation college student. He earned his AA degree from St. Petersburg Junior College in 1979. As a student he was on the college’s central accreditation committee, where he learned the inner workings of how community colleges operate. In 1999, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Ken to the Board of Trustees of St. Petersburg College where he served for 13 years, including several as Chair. In 2000, Ken was elected to the Board of Directors of ACCT. He served as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice Chair, Chair-Elect, and ACCT Chair (2005-06). In 2008, Ken was elected to the board of AACC where he served for three years. In his final year of service on that board, he was on the Executive Committee, becoming the first trustee ever to serve in that role. In 2011, Ken was appointed by Dr. Walter Bumphus to the “21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges”, and is proud to be part of the group that produced the report calling for the best educated and most qualified workforce in our nation’s history. In 2014, Governor Rick Scott appointed Ken to the Higher Education Coordinating Council for the State of Florida. He served on that body for 5 years, and as Chair for the final two years.
Professionally, Ken is Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Pinellas County, Florida, a county of just under one million population. In that role Ken has responsibility for court support, recording of deeds & mortgages, issuing marriage licenses, intaking of passport applications, auditing county functions, investing county funds, issuing the county’s financial statements, and serving as the chief financial officer of the county and clerk to the Board of County Commissioners. Ken was appointed by three Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court to the Supreme Court’s Standing Committee on Diversity and Fairness where he served for 10 years.
