Duke Flags Lowered For Public Affairs Guiding Force
John F. Burness, who led Duke University’s communications work for almost two decades and was the guiding force behind the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, died Monday. He was 77.
Friends and colleagues called Burness a direct, friendly and caring collaborator whose work made Duke and Durham demonstrably better.
Burness was Duke’s senior vice president for public affairs and government relations for 17 years, guiding the university’s interactions with reporters, elected officials, community leaders and others beyond the campus. He was directly responsible for the university’s offices of news and communications, community affairs, photography and government relations in Washington, Raleigh and Durham, and served broadly as an adviser to trustees, deans, faculty, student leaders and others.