USF Names First Vice President for Mission and Ignatian Imagination

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Fr. Burke, a member of the USF Board of Trustees from 2013–22 who served on the Academic Affairs committee and the Catholic Identity and Jesuit Mission committee, most recently was vice president for mission at Regis University, from 2019 through May 2026.

“Fr. Burke will help guide USF as we advance the mission of forming leaders rooted in faith, justice, and service,” said Salvador D. Aceves ’83, EdD ’95. “He has extensive expertise providing mission-driven leadership, and I look forward to working with him as we align in support of USF’s Jesuit mission.”

A theologian and author, Fr. Burke was a dean and faculty member at the Santa Clara University Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, before joining Regis. Prior to that, he was a member of the faculty of Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His first book, The Ground Beneath the Cross: The Theology of Ignacio Ellacuria, focuses on the theology of a Salvadoran priest who was one of six Jesuits, along with two female co-workers, murdered by the Salvadoran army in 1989 at the University of Central America.

Fr. Burke is also president-elect of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the principal association of Catholic theologians in North America and the largest professional society of theologians.

“The mission of the University of San Francisco belongs to the entire university,” Fr. Burke said. “My immediate desire is to come to know the people of USF, to embrace their desires and support their dreams. I hope to facilitate and support mission efforts throughout our community, and my aim is to ensure that everyone at USF feels invited and empowered to engage with the university’s mission wherever and to whatever degree they feel comfortable.” 

“At USF, we have a community of people in service of others. Everywhere I look, I see faith and love in action," Fr. Burke said. “That fuels my hope, my excitement about joining the USF community, and my conviction that we can continue to enrich the lives of our students while doing our part to serve our city and our world.”

In his new role at USF, Fr. Burke will lead a division that brings together University Ministry, the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and the Ignatian Tradition, and the Office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Academic initiatives in those departments will continue under the direction of the provost's office.

"I look forward to partnering with Fr. Burke to advance our community's commitment to faith, justice, and inclusion," said Provost Eileen Fung.