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Our journey: The evolution of the Burroughs campus
Enrollment: 592 in 2000 & 600 in 2009
Distinctions: 18 National Merit Semifinalists, 246 Finalists & 113 Scholars
Tuition Assistance: Totaled $993,060 in 2000 (86% Increase Over 1990)
Distinctions: 18 National Merit Semifinalists, 246 Finalists & 113 Scholars
Tuition Assistance: Totaled $993,060 in 2000 (86% Increase Over 1990)
Program Highlights
- Longtime director of development Don Whelan retired in December 2000.
- Director of admission & financial aid Bill Thomas retired in June 2001.
- Burroughs athletic director Skippy Keefer retired in June 2001, and Todd Small became the new director.
- In August 2001, nine faculty members completed level one of a diversity workshop led by Healing our Nation®. Six additional faculty members completed level three of the workshop.
- On September 11, 2001, many students first heard of the terrorist attacks during morning assembly.
- In November 2001, painting and drawing teacher Charlie Derleth delivered the Thanksgiving assembly speech, in which he reflected on the perspective gained from his experiences following a fall that left him paralyzed.
- In 2001, Burroughs was recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for “aggressive, innovative and comprehensive” diversity efforts.
- Based on a formal self-study, the Board of Trustees began a comprehensive evaluation in 2001 of the school’s campus, facilities, land, and endowment needs. This study became the campus master plan and was the genesis for the Campaign for Burroughs which was, at the time, the school’s most ambitious fundraising campaign ever.
- In 2002, Jack Orchard ’95 spoke in assembly about his personal struggles living with ALS and about the foundation he founded to fight the disease.
- In the fall of 2002, the Board of Trustees approved recommendations intended to respect the religious preferences and practices of all Burroughs families as equally regarded members of the community.
- Burroughs received the 2003 Missouri Treescape Award for successfully introducing natural Missouri plant material to our landscaping.
- Veronica Sudekum ’02 is named a Presidential Scholar.
- In 2003, the girls varsity soccer team won their first state championship.
- Margaret Bahe (Science) was named Outstanding Biology Teacher for the State of Missouri by the National Association of Biology Teachers in 2004.
- The Technology Education Association of Missouri (TEAM) declared the Burroughs Industrial Technology program best in State in 2004 and 2005.
- After rain, hail, and high winds wreaked havoc on Graduation Grove, the Class of 2005 graduated inside the field house, sans power and air conditioning, but with panache.
- Andy Abbott was named director of college counseling and assistant head of school in the fall of 2006.
- In 2006, Burroughs completed its first iteration of a strategic plan for diversity which included a focus on diversity in departmental self-studies as part of our accreditation process.
- Leo Drey ’34 returned to campus in December of 2007 for an assembly in his honor, during which students spoke about Drey Land’s place in their Burroughs experience.
- The Fine Arts Advisory Committee was formed in the spring of 2008 to help preserve, maintain and advance the school’s permanent collection, as well as to raise the importance of and recognition for the visual arts within the greater Burroughs community.
- For the first time in school history, the Class of 2008 ExploraVision team (Lindsay Bauer, Nathan Gusdorf, and Hody Nemes) claimed first place for their E. cololocator gloves. The ExploraVision competition is a national contest for K-12 students that started in 1992 to challenge students to envision and communicate new technology for 10 or more years in the future through collaboration and research of current science and technology.
- In February 2009, the Rev. Billy Kyles talked in assembly about the last hour of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life.
- Keith Shahan ’62 retired in June of 2009 and Andy Abbott became Burroughs’ sixth head of school.
- Elena Crosley ’09 is named a Gates Millennium Scholar; the first for Burroughs.
- The 10th grade diversity seminar was launched in the fall of 2009 to help students develop their cultural competency and intercultural skills through exposure to different perspectives to better prepare them as global citizens. The course emerged from a community-wide review of diversity and inclusivity at Burroughs in 2005.
- Pulitzer Prize-winning alumna Jane Smiley ’67 spoke in assembly on October 9, 2009, and met with students in smaller gatherings throughout the morning.
- Eric Knispel (Science) built a biodiesel fuel processor in 2009 and began producing fuel with waste oil from the Burroughs kitchen to power the school’s maintenance vehicles and super mileage vehicle.
Giving Highlights
- Thirteen more endowed scholarships were established for a total of 47 by 2009.
- Campaign for Burroughs is launched to raise funds to underwrite major capital improvements to benefit theater, music and athletics facilities.
- In 2001, the Fred Dreher/Joanna Collins Chair in Fine Arts was established by the Estate of Joanna Collins ’47 who taught in the Fine Arts Department from 1957-1993, and Fred taught from 1947-1970. Charles Derleth was named the first chair holder.
- In 2005, the Alice Snodgrass/Kemper Family Chair for Excellence in Teaching was established by the David W. Kemper Family and the William T. Kemper Foundation. Alice taught in the Mathematics Department from 1965-2003. Jerry Taylor was the first chairholder.
Campus Highlights
- Jim Lemen Press Box and Stands installed and dedicated in 2000.
- More land is acquired including properties on the southern edge of campus.
- Leland Field and Skippy Keefer Track are installed and dedicated.
- Baseball stands are installed and dedicated in memory of George Sisler and Jason Lohr ‘91.
- Clayton Road entrance and parking lot were completed in 2006.
- Dining room was enlarged.
- Field hockey field installed and Olin Field House addition completed in 2007.
- Kerry S. Kuehner Fine Arts Building Renovation and Gallery completed in 2008.
Athletic Highlights
- In the fall of 2000, the girls field hockey team won their State championship.
- The 2001 football team achieved one of the great comebacks of all time in the televised semifinal game against Monroe City at Burroughs. Trailing Monroe City 19-0 at halftime, the Bombers staged a second-half surge to win the game 33-19. The team went on to claim the school’s eighth State championship (after an undefeated season).
- Burroughs baseball won the State championship in the spring of 2002, and claimed the State doubles title in boys tennis, and the state singles championship in girls tennis. In track, students won four gold medals at the Class 2A championships in May 2002. The team also celebrated wins in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4x100 relay and the 4 x 200. On the girls’ side, Burroughs athletes earned gold medals in the 4x800.
- The girls soccer team won its first-ever state championship in the spring of 2003.
- Burroughs’ ice hockey team won their state championship in 2005.
- Head football coach and history teacher Jim Lemen and athletic director Todd Small traded places in June 2005, with Lemen taking over as athletic director and Small returning to the history classroom and assuming head coaching responsibilities.
- In the fall of 2005, Susan Sullivan ’06 claimed the statewide tennis singles title for the third consecutive year.
- In the spring of 2006, Mitch Stromsdorfer ’08 claimed the state wrestling title in his weight division (152 class), becoming the first JBS wrestler to win state in 35 years. Cory Lester ’12 soon followed claiming the State wrestling title in his weight class (112 class) in 2009.
- Also in 2006, Burroughs’ long-distance runners claimed the school’s first-ever state cross country title.
- In the fall of 2008, the boys soccer team claimed its first state soccer championship, and Alex Lehman ’09 won her third state singles championship title in tennis.
- In the spring of 2009, the girls lacrosse team won its first state championship title.
