Aaron Burkes Named New Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs

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Aaron Burkes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Aaron Burkes, a Northwest Arkansas native, U of A graduate, former area businessman and Arkansas state representative, has been named associate vice chancellor for business affairs at the University of Arkansas. He will replace David Martinson, who retired last summer. Burkes will officially assume his duties on Monday, March 9.

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to come back home to Northwest Arkansas and play a role in advancing the great mission of my alma mater,” Burkes said. “It has been incredible to see the university's reputation, endowment, and enrollment grow. To now be a part of the university in a capacity where I can add value is a real honor."

Burkes spent the past three years at Madison Area Technical College, in Madison, Wisconsin. He served as interim vice president for administration and most recently as assistant vice president of economic and workforce development. While at Madison College he was responsible for bringing an onsite health clinic to the campus, generating revenue from underutilized college-owned facilities, and implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning system, all of which brought better and cheaper services to the college.

Burkes grew up in Northwest Arkansas and received his bachelor’s degree at the U of A. He earned a master’s degree in economics at Clemson University and a law degree at Baylor University.

He returned to Northwest Arkansas where he worked in banking and real estate, eventually founding the Burkes Company, a real estate management and development firm. He served one term as a state representative in the Arkansas legislature, and in 2007 was profiled by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal as one of the “40 Under 40” top business leaders in the region. He served as executive director of Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission in Decorah, Iowa, before joining Madison College.

“Aaron Burkes has the skills and experience we were looking for in this very important role,” said Tim O’Donnell, interim vice chancellor for finance and administration. “It is that much more of a plus that he has lived and worked in Northwest Arkansas, and has strong ties to the University of Arkansas. I would like to thank the members of the search committee for their work in bringing this outstanding professional home to the U of A.”

Burkes and his wife Rebecca are both Life Members of the Arkansas Alumni Association. They have two sons. 

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.