Dr. Raymond Burse to give keynote speech for Human Rights Commission’s Unity Breakfast

Dr. Raymond Burse, a Hopkinsville native and 1973 Rhodes scholar, will be the keynote speaker for the 50th Unity Breakfast on Thursday, Oct. 24, at the James E. Bruce Convention Center.

Burse, who is the current board chairman for the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, served as president of Kentucky State University from July 1982 to April 1989 and again from August 2014 to May 2016.

As a college administrator, attorney and business executive, Burse has long promoted the importance of education.

Speaking to a Hopkinsville audience of high school students in 2012, he said, “Get enough education so you won’t have to look up to anyone, and then get a little bit more so you won’t look down on anyone either.”

Burse was recruited for the second term as president to help stabilize the historically Black college in Frankfort during a period of financial troubles and declining enrollment. He attracted national praise when he gave up $90,000 of his $350,000 salary and used the money to boost the pay for a few dozen of KSU’s lowest-paid employees. But his efforts to put KSU in better shape financially also resulted in complaints from some faculty, and he resigned abruptly in 2016, saying the school needed new leadership.

Born in Hopkinsville in 1951, Burse was the youngest of 12 children and graduated 10th academically in a class of 325 students from Christian County High School, according to his bio on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights website.

Burse earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics at Centre College, then studied at Oxford University in England as a Rhodes scholar. He earned his law degree from Harvard University. He is a former vice president and general counsel for GE Appliances and Lighting and also practiced law with Wyatt, Grafton & Sloss in Louisville.

Organized by the Human Rights Commission of Hopkinsville-Christian County, the Unity Breakfast attracts several hundred guests each year.

A highlight of the event is the presentation of the Hal and Bettye Thurmond Award and additional awards that recognize human relations efforts by local individuals and organizations. HRC is accepting nominations for the awards until Sept. 27.

David Thurmond, a Hopkinsville native who resides in Louisville, will attend and present the award in honor of his parents, HRC executive director Raychel Fort Farmer said Thursday in a Facebook video.

Farmer said a limited number of tickets are available for the breakfast and can be purchased online through Eventbrite.

Individual tickets are $25, and a table for 10 guests is $225. Advance ticket sales end Oct. 6. If seats are still available, tickets will be sold at the door. Sponsorships, available until Sept. 27, range from $1,000 to $4,000. The Unity Breakfast program will begin at 7:30 a.m. Guests may enter the convention center beginning at 7 a.m.