Kentucky State University names Dr. Daarel Burnette as Acting Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kentucky State University has named Dr. Daarel E. Burnette as acting vice president for Finance and Administration/Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Burnette succeeds Dr. Gerald Shields, interim vice president for Finance and Administration/CFO, as his contract expires.
Interim President Ronald A. Johnson extends his gratitude to Shields for his service to Kentucky State.
“Gerald has been a crucial team member in helping KSU create a structure that allows us to make more strategic decisions about resource allocation to support institutional priorities,” President Johnson said. “Gerald and Daarel have worked together for the last few months to ensure a coherent transition.”
In August, Burnette joined the leadership team of President Johnson as chief of staff. Burnette will manage Kentucky State University’s financial, administrative, and facilities operations to advance the institutional mission. The division’s oversight includes the departments of accounting, budget and analysis, contracts and grants, purchasing, physical plant, auxiliary services, information technology, human resources and transportation.
“I am confident that Daarel will develop and implement a shared vision across the University for generating, sustaining, and deploying resources to pursue academic goals and institutional priorities,” President Johnson said. “He is a proven builder of highly effective teams and programs. Among his tasks will be to help Kentucky State formulate and implement mid- and long-term financial strategies that are efficient, equitable and effective throughout our budgeting process.”
Burnette has built a distinguished higher-education career upon honorably retiring from the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. He is an experienced higher education administrator with a proven track record collaborating across campus. In addition, Burnette is well known for his fiscal acumen, which has stabilized and improved the positions of the institutions he has served, such as Jackson State University and Rust College (Mississippi), Stillman College (Alabama), Central State University (Ohio), Grambling State University (Louisiana) and Winston Salem State University (North Carolina).
Burnette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and finance from Morehouse College, a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Georgia State and University College, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in leadership in urban higher education from Jackson State University. Burnette is a native of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
He is married to Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette from Cleveland, Ohio. The couple has two children, Daarel II and Daana.