Foster School of Business Advisor Wins UW Volunteer Award

Michael G. Foster School of Business advisor and longtime University of Washington volunteer Artie Buerk (BA 1958) received the Gates Volunteer Service Award at the Sixth Annual Recognition Gala on Sept. 7, 2007 for his years of outstanding volunteer leadership at the UW.

Buerk is the current advisory board chairman of the Foster School of Business and the Information School. In his past, Buerk was a founder of the Foster School's Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (now known as the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) as well as past president of the UW Alumni Association and a former director of the UW Foundation.

Buerk has been a generous supporter of the UW, including recently creating the Buerk Leadership Endowment at the Foster School of Business. While serving on the Foster School’s advisory board he has championed the significance of leadership development, encouraged the School to launch alumni reunions and continues to be a leadership mentor. "He is a great leader and he leads in his own style," says Jim Jiambalvo, dean of the Foster School. "His style is based on his passion—and that's networking."

Currently, Buerk is managing director of Seattle-based Buerk Dale Victor, LLC, where he has been operating, advising and investing in growth companies for 30 years. A recognized business leader in the Pacific Northwest, he has served as president of Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., president and co-chairman of Northwestern Trust and was a founder of Intermation. As president of Shurgard, Buerk transformed an early-stage, regional mini-storage developer into a nationwide firm that owned and managed more than 600 storage operations across the globe.

Aside from Buerk Dale Victor, LLC and volunteer roles at the University of Washington, he is a director for numerous companies: Door To Door, Ivey, Davidson Trust, Alliance for Education and the Haas Foundation.

Buerk has a BA in finance and banking from the Foster School of Business and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
The Gates Volunteer Service Award, presented by the UW and the UW Foundation, recognizes volunteers who have encouraged others to support the UW through time, service and philanthropy.

Return to November 2007 MBA Alumni News