Mark Burstein was elected Lawrence University’s 16th president on December 13, 2012 and he assumed office on July 1, 2013. He came to Lawrence from Princeton University where he served as the Executive Vice President for nine years.
At Princeton, Mark led efforts to enhance campus life and modernize the University's operations and infrastructure. Projects accomplished there included creating an award winning campus master plan, writing a sustainability plan for the University which integrated teaching and research with administrative initiatives, launching a four year residential college system with the Dean of the College, and playing an active role in the University's fundraising campaign. Mark also worked with the Provost to decrease the University’s operating budget by 15% during the economic downturn and led efforts to sustain the University’s operational efficiency. He had direct oversight of human resources, facilities, campus life, public safety, university services, and university audit and compliance efforts, and reported to the President. Mark also served as a Lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Program in Freshman Seminars.
Before Princeton, Mark held several senior roles at Columbia University from 1994 to 2004. As the Vice President for Facilities Management he developed a plan for a new campus now taking shape in Harlem, acquired over $250 million of real estate for academic development, and completed $1 billion in construction. As the university's first Vice President of Student Services, he provided financial, health, housing, registrar, and retail services to a community of 20,000 students. As acting Vice President of Human Resources he led benefits, compensation, and labor relations.
Mark also brings experience in local government, investment banking, and consulting to his higher education career. As Director of Economic Development for the Department of Sanitation he helped found the New York City recycling program, leading efforts to create markets for recyclable material including co-founding a commodities exchange for recyclables at the Chicago Board of Trade. Previously he was an associate in the Public Finance Division of Bear Stearns and a consultant for the Center for Applied Research in the firm's strategy and organizational development practices.
Mark earned his M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded the Morgenthau Fellowship, and his B.A. in History with departmental honors from Vassar College where he received the Catlin Prize for outstanding contribution to the Vassar community.
Mark currently serves on the board of trustees of Vassar College, and recently served on the New York City Mayor’s Applied Sciences Advisory Board, leading to the selection of Cornell University for a new campus on Roosevelt Island, and as chair of the board of directors of the Victory Fund, a national political action committee based in Washington D.C. He also served as co-chair of the Public Services Committee of the Citizens Budget Commission of New York; as a graduate student representative to the University of Pennsylvania board of trustees; and on the Manhattan Community Board Number 9.
