Chairman Bill W. Burgess, Jr. was
appointed to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in 1993
and reappointed in 2002 by the governor of the state of Oklahoma for
another nine-year term. He is one of the youngest State Regents to be
appointed in the state's history and is currently serving as chairman.
Burgess is chairman emeritus of the board of Techrizon, LLC, chairman of the board of Vortex, Inc., and is the senior partner of Burgess & Hightower Law Firm.
Techrizon develops software for today’s technologically advanced warfare. In its 25-year history, Techrzon software engineers have developed smart weapons systems that provide commanders with command and control, fire direction, target acquisition, forward observation, and meteorological and communications software needed to succeed in modern battlefield situations. Techrizon has achieved Level 5 certification under the Capability Maturity Model established by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. This certification places Techrizon in the top 1 percent of all software engineering and development organizations. Techrizon is the largest Oklahoma-owned software engineering company, with 300 associates employed at an average annual salary of $60,000.
Burgess served as chairman of the Citizens' Commission on the Future of Oklahoma Higher Education and of the 1998 “Two for Technology” campaign for passage of State Questions 680 and 681 regarding higher education technology transfer. He was chosen as one of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s Oklahoma Stars for the “I Believe in Oklahoma” campaign. He also served on the Steering Committee for the Oklahoma EDGE (Economic Development Generating Excellence) project.
Burgess has served as chairman of the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, Inc., and serves on the board of directors of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce. He has served as chairman of the board of the Lawton Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. He is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma and has served on the Leadership Oklahoma Board of Directors. He has been a member of the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council and president of the Southwest Oklahoma Technology Association and is on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Technology Development Corporation, which operates the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center. He has been inducted by the U.S. Army into the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara and has served as president of the Association of the United States Army for Oklahoma. He has served as president of the Boy Scouts of America - Southwest Oklahoma Council and is an Eagle Scout. He is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Vigil Order of the Arrow, and God and Country Boy Scouts awards. He has served in a number of capacities for various civic and alumni organizations and is also the recipient of several outstanding alumnus awards and civic awards.
Burgess is the son of Sgt. (Ret.) Bill W. Burgess Sr. and Betty Burgess. He graduated from Cameron University with a bachelor's degree and received his jurist doctorate from the University of Oklahoma School of Law.
Burgess and his wife, Sylvia M. Burgess, have two children, Bradley and
Beverly.
Electronic Bio (PDF,
55k)
Electronic Photo
(JPG, high res, 169k)
