Mr. David S. (Dave) Burdick

Dean of Administration

Mr. David S. (Dave) Burdick joined NDU's College of International Security Affairs (CISA) as Dean of Administration on 18 June 2023, and is responsible for a broad range of academic and administrative functions supporting the college, including business processes, personnel, security, logistics, resource management, facilities management, and protocol. 

Mr. Burdick comes to NDU from the US Army's Network Enterprise Command (NETCOM) where he was the first civilian Chief of Staff of the 7th Signal Command (Theater) (2021-2023). Prior to joining NETCOM, he served at NASA Headquarters as the Director of Support Services (2018-2021), at the DoD Office of Inspector General as the Director of Logistics (2015-2018), and at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Deputy Director of the Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (2011-2015). 

Mr. Burdick began his more than 37-year government career in the Utah Army National Guard, and was subsequently commissioned a field artillery officer through ROTC. While on active duty at Fort Sill, OK, he was assigned to the battery that tested the Paladin howitzer prototypes. Later, he commanded a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) battery in Germany, transitioning to federal civil service after the first Gulf War. Remaining in Germany, he gained extensive knowledge and expertise in antiterrorism, force protection, homeland security, emergency management, and installation operations while serving in several Army garrison leadership positions. 

After the 9/11 attacks, Mr. Burdick joined the Army Management Staff College at Fort Belvoir, VA, as a Professor of Installation Management (2002-2011), where he developed and taught antiterrorism/force protection and installation operations curricula for the Garrison Pre-command Course, Garrison Command Sergeants Major Course, and the General Officer Installation Commanders' Course. He helped design, and then became program manager for, the Installation Force Protection Exercise Program, a unique training/team building opportunity for Army garrison commanders and their emergency operations centers to learn how to respond effectively under the stressful conditions of all-hazard contingency events. 

During a sabbatical from the college (2004-2007), Mr. Burdick became the first Chief of Current Operations at the U.S. Army Installation Management Command in Arlington, VA, coordinating the command's support operations in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. After returning to the college, Mr. Burdick was an observer/controller for Trinidad and Tobago's Exercise Scarlet Ibis (2008), and later trained the Emergency Operations Center staff in the Office of Domestic Preparedness (their FEMA equivalent), as their country hosted the 2009 Summit of the Americas. 

Mr. Burdick was born in Philadelphia, PA and raised in Athens, GA. He is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Brigham Young University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He also has a Master of Arts degree in Homeland Security from the Naval Postgraduate School, the first DoD civil servant selected to attend this program. Mr. Burdick is the recipient of the Army's Superior Civilian Service Award, the Commander's Award for Civilian Service (with two laurel leaves), and the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service. He and his late wife, Fiona (a former DoD civilian), moved with their family to northern Virginia in 2002. They are the parents of three adult children: a son and daughter-in-law living in New York City, and a daughter living in northern Virginia.