“An Incredible Journey”

Outgoing McNeese President Dr. Daryl Burckel Reflects On Leading McNeese Through Some Of Its Most Difficult Years

It’s not such a rare thing that a university student becomes a professor at that same university. But probably very few have gone on to become president of the university they attended as students.

Dr. Daryl Burckel’s journey at McNeese goes back to 1977, when he was an accounting student and a middle linebacker for the McNeese Cowboys football team. He helped the team reach two SLC championships and earn a trip to the Independence Bowl. On June 30, he’ll step down as the university’s seventh president, having led it through some of the most difficult years in its history. And he justifiably feels he’s left the university a better place than it was when he took office. 

A Well-Known            Curricula Vitae

With Burckel’s announcement that he would be stepping down from the presidency came an onslaught of local media coverage, so his biography is currently well known throughout SWLA — his bachelor’s in accounting in 1980 and his master’s in business administration in 1982, both from McNeese; his doctorate in accounting from Mississippi State University; his becoming a certified public accountant and consultant; and his faculty positions at the University of New Orleans and Mississippi State. His career as a high school football referee has even been covered.  

While at Mississippi State, Burckel was called up to serve in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in the spring of ’92. (He was a U.S. Army Reserve Captain.) He served in Iraq for eight months before coming back and making the decision to join McNeese as an assistant professor of accounting in 1992.

 “My wife was in Starkville (Miss.) alone, and when I came back (from Iraq), we had to decide where we wanted to raise a family,” Burckel says. “We decided to come back to Lake Charles. McNeese had an opening in the accounting department. It was a no-brainer.”

He was promoted to head of the MSU Accounting, Finance and Economics Dept. in 1996. 

A New Way Of Life

When former McNeese president Robert Hebert decided to leave office in 2017, several colleagues and community members urged Burckel to run.

He wasn’t buying into it at first. “I was very content with what I was doing,” he says. “I was involved in activities. I served on several boards, including Jeff Davis Bank and Christus St. Patrick. I had developed a way of life over 30 years. I knew the presidency would be a drastic change.”

He finally agreed to throw his hat into the ring, he says, but “I didn’t politic for it. I decided I’d trust the board to find the best candidate.”

They found Burckel, and the choice turned out to be the right one. Had Burckel known what his administration would face not even three short years from his being sworn in as president, however, he would have been forgiven for turning the board down.

COVID, Hurricanes —     Well, You Know…

The COVID pandemic forced a shutdown, then a switch to virtual classes, beginning in March of ’20.

“Students were struggling,” Burckel says. “It’s hard to have a quality education with no contact.”

 Students had just returned to campus — two weeks earlier, in fact — when Laura made her memorable appearance in August of ’20. It was a huge hurdle upon the heels of the pandemic. But, says Burckel, there was a silver lining.

“We were already online, so it wasn’t all that hard to get students back to learning — back to ‘normalcy.’”

Still, the storms touched every building on campus. And, says Burckel, they could easily have shut the university down.

“We had $230 million in damage,” he says. “Every building on campus was affected. Every roof was damaged.”

The university was able to open back up for classes in the spring of ’21, just months after Laura and Delta. Amazing progress in such a short time. Burckel explains how the university was able to rebound so quickly.

“We couldn’t let the repair process happen as usual,” he says. “Just the planning process would have taken 120 days or more. And one contractor couldn’t handle all that work.”

So, he says, the campus was divided into six zones, with each zone assigned to a different architect and contractor. Emergency bid periods were 10 days instead of the usual 30. 

“Every zone had a different resource,” Burckel says. “It wasn’t just one group responsible for all of the work.”

Work began on Oct. 20, 2020, Burckel says. And by the time the spring semester rolled around the following January, the buildings were ready to welcome students back. 

Then the freeze happened. Then the 1,000-year flood. 

“It was a real struggle,” Burckel says in a bit of understatement. 

What really impacted the university, he says, was the loss of students. 

“We lost 1,500 students,” he says. “That included 650 juniors and seniors.”

The physical damage and the decline in enrollment saddled McNeese with a deficit of $6 million.

Again, Burckel, along with his faculty and staff, found a way to solve the problem. The deficit was resolved in a year. And the university now has a surplus of $650,000.

“We had to make some difficult budget decisions,” he admits. “We had to consolidate functions and departments. We didn’t hire faculty.”

And, he says, it’s helped that interest rates have risen, improving the university’s investment portfolio.

“We have about $2.5 million in investment earnings this year,” Burckel says. 

Making Lemonade           From Lemons

Burckel and his administration didn’t just rebuild McNeese after the storms. They used the opportunity to strengthen and upgrade campus buildings, demolish old buildings and generally make the campus more appealing aesthetically.

“The campus was old and tired,” Burckel says. “It was deteriorating. The aesthetics weren’t good. We suddenly had an opportunity to transform the campus.” 

McNeese has $125 million in renovations planned or ongoing, including a new student center, new bookstore, the new autism center, a new press box in Cowboy Stadium, $4.5 million in HVAC system repairs and upgrades, and a $3.5 million renovation project in Gayle Hall. The old Miller’s House for Sports building was purchased and turned into a storage center. Burton Business Center received $8.5 million in renovations. 

The new Richard Rhoden Bridge over the Contraband Bayou has increased the aesthetic appeal of the campus and made it easier for students to get around campus. Green spaces and relaxation areas will also be included in campus. 

A Different Perspective

Serving as president “has been a great experience,” Burckel says. And, he adds, “it’s been quite a learning curve.”

First, Burckel says he quickly realized that “running a university is a complex business.”

“I saw everything from a different perspective,” he says. “I had been involved in only a small part of (the university). I was suddenly involved in every piece of it. There are so many parts that intertwine.”

And, he says, he came to appreciate the “fine quality” of the university’s faculty and staff.

“I was able to work with people I only knew to say hello to,” Burckel says. “I was now able to work with these people directly, and I’ve admired the expertise they all have in their fields.”

And he says he has a new appreciation of the importance of student retention. 

“Enrollment is about 80 percent of our revenue,” he says. “And so many of our students are struggling. We have to find a way to recruit students and also to retain students — to help those students who are having a difficult time.”

The new student center, he says, is a big step in the right direction. 

“Students can go for tutoring, advising, career services, any help they need,” he says.

Since libraries have changed so drastically with the advent of digital technology, Burckel says the first floor of the university library has been turned into a student success center.

Also, the university now has a faculty-driven alert program. Faculty members are able to note whether a student is falling behind in their class, and the alert can be read by other faculty members so that all of a struggling student’s professors know about the problem and can keep up with the student’s progress. This, says Burckel, will help head off problems before they become too big to handle.

“It used to be sink or swim,” he says. “Now we can give kids options and give them the help they need.”

Well-Deserved Rest 

Burckel, when asked what prompted his stepping down from office, says simply, “I was tired. It was time.”

He’d accomplished all he wanted to accomplish, he says, and he knew it was time to turn the reins over.

“I didn’t want to be one of those people who hung onto the presidency just to be in the position,” he says. “I didn’t want to become complacent. I knew (stepping down) was the right thing to do.”

Burckel says he’s proud of the way the university came through the adversity of 2020 and 2021. And he says he knows he didn’t accomplish anything alone.

“We have a dedicated faculty and staff that have kept their optimism about the future,” he says. “We had an opportunity to transform this campus, and we have.”

Stepping Down, Not Out

Burckel won’t leave McNeese when he steps down as president. He’ll return to the classroom. And he says his experience as president will give him a new perspective on teaching. 

“I’m hoping to bring back the broader perspective I gained as president back to the classroom,” he says.  “To have a better knowledge of how the classroom relates to the university as a whole.”