Burroughs Wellcome names president

April 1, 2008

John Burris

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- John E. Burris, president of Beloit College in Wisconsin, has been named president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in Research Triangle Park, effective in July.

As the fund's second full-time president, Burris succeeds Enriqueta Bond, who retired last fall after a 13-year tenure.

Burris has previous experience with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, having chaired the advisory committee for its student science enrichment program for six years.

One of several key factors in selecting Burris was his access to a national network of scientists and scientific opinion leaders, Phil Gold, chair of the fund's board of directors, said in a statement.

Before becoming president of Beloit, Burris was director and chief executive officer of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., where he managed international research programs in a variety of fields, as well as a capital campaign of $40 million.

Burris has also been executive director of the Commission on Life Sciences at the National Research Council. He has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including a stint as president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

He has degrees from Harvard University and the University of California-San Diego, and has taught at Pennsylvania State University.

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