Richard W. Burkhardt enjoyed a distinguished career at Ball State University from 1952 until his retirement in 1985.  Dr. Burkhardt recieved his undergraduate degree from Knox College in 1939 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1945.  After serving as director of the division of teacher preperation at Syracuse University, Dr. Burkhardt became vice president for instructional affairs and dean of faculties.  In 1979, he was named provost and vice president for academic affairs.  During the 1978-1979 academic year, Dr. Burkhardt served as acting president of the university.

Dr. Burkhardt maintained his association with the History Department during his years as Ball State's Chief academic officer, occasionally teaching a course in Modern European History.  In 1980, Dr. Burkhardt returned to the History Department as a Distinguished Service Professor where he taught courses in his specialty until his retirement in 1985.  Even in retirement, Dr. Burkhardt maintained an active program of research.  He collaborated with James K. Danglade on the research and writing of Sixty Years of Outreach and Public Service: A History of Continuing Education at Ball State University, a study that was published in 1985.  In 1991, he published Eliza Julia Flower: Letters of an English Gentlewoman: Life on the Illinois-Indiana Frontier, 1817-1861, in collaboration with Janet Walker.