Othell Maxie Burns Jr. (born November 8, 1948) is an American politician and academic from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Burns has represented the 23rd district in the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

since January 2021. He previously served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 2003 to 2005, representing . From 2012 to 2017 he was the president of

Gordon State College Gordon State College is a public college in Barnesville, Georgia, United States. A member of the University System of Georgia (USG), Gordon State's spring 2023 enrollment was 2,846 students. Gordon College became a four-year state college in ...

in Barnesville, Georgia.

Early life and education

Max Burns was born in

Millen, Georgia Millen is a city, and the county seat of Jenkins County, Georgia, Jenkins County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 3,120 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 3,492 at the 2000 census. The city i ...

. Burns received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

, a Master of Business Administration in information systems from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

and a

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a terminal degree in business administration. The DBA is classified as a research doctorate or professional doctorate depending on the granting university and country where the degree was awarded. ...

from

Career

Burns also served as a member of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

from 1973 to 1981. He served as a member of the Screven County Commission from 1993 to 1998 and as chairman towards the end of his tenure. Prior to his tenure in Congress, he was a professor of information systems at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

's College of Business Administration in

Statesboro, Georgia Statesboro is the most populous city in and the county seat of Bulloch County, Georgia, United States. Located in the southeastern part of the state, its population was 33,438 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city ...

. Burns was also a Senior Fulbright Scholar, teaching Corporate Information Management in Sweden. He has also taught in Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Burns has also worked as a consultant to

Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft sinc ...

and

Grinnell Mechanical Products Grinnell Mechanical Products, a brand of Tyco International Ltd., manufactures grooved piping and mechanical products. Grinnell Mechanical Products specializes in mechanical, fire, HVAC, commercial, mining, institutional and industrial application ...

. He also developed the Southern Suppliers' Network to connect Southeast Georgia's small business suppliers to major manufacturers. Earlier in his professional career, the Congressman served in information management positions with Oxford Industries and the North American Mission Board of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

. After leaving Congress, Burns was dean of the Mike Cottrell Business School at

North Georgia College & State University North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Dahlonega Dahlonega ( ) is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia h ...

, Georgia. After his final bid to regain his congressional seat, Burns served as senior policy adviser at Thelen, Reid and Priest, LLP in Washington, D.C. He also served as associate dean and chair of the business administration department at the Cottrell School of Business at North Georgia College & State University. In 2011, he was appointed as president of Gordon College. He served in that role until his retirement on December 31, 2017. In January 2024, Burns co-sponsored S.B.390, which would withhold government funding for any libraries in Georgia affiliated with the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Elections

2002

Burns won the Republican primary for the 12th district, one of two Georgia gained after the 2000 Census. He defeated Barbara Dooley, the wife of

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

coaching legend

Vince Dooley Vincent Joseph Dooley (September 4, 1932 – October 28, 2022) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to 2 ...

. Initially, Burns was thought to be a significant underdog in the general election. The 12th had been drawn as a Democratic stronghold. Additionally, Burns ran on a very conservative platform. However, the Democratic candidate, Augusta businessman Charles "Champ" Walker, Jr., son of

state Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

majority leader Charles Walker, Sr., was dogged by ethical questions and began losing ground during the summer. Eventually, Burns won by a surprising 10-point margin, taking 55% to Walker's 45 percent.

2004

Burns was elected president of the Republican freshman class, but was a top Democratic target in the 2004 elections. His 2004 Democratic opponent was

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

- Clarke County Commissioner John Barrow, who beat Burns 52% to 48%.

2006

In May 2005, Burns announced that he would seek a rematch against Barrow in 2006. The state legislature, now controlled by Republicans, had conducted a highly controversial mid-decade redistricting. In the process, they drew Barrow's home in Athens out of the district and moved several Republican-leaning Savannah suburbs from the 1st District. Although the result was to make the 12th about five points more African-American than its predecessor, it was also slightly less Democratic. Barrow narrowly defeated Burns, 50.3% to 49.7%, the closest margin for a Democratic incumbent in the cycle. While Burns won 14 of the district's 22 counties, he lost in the two largest counties, Chatham and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, home to Savannah and Augusta respectively. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

made two personal appearances campaigning on behalf of former Representative Burns. The first appearance by President Bush was in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and the second in

. This was the second time a sitting president has visited Savannah Georgia and first time a sitting president has visited Statesboro Georgia.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" — ''The Rothenberg Political Report''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Max 1948 births Living people Heads of universities and colleges in the United States County commissioners in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Southern University faculty Georgia State University alumni Georgia Tech alumni Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Millen, Georgia People from Sylvania, Georgia Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives