About
ORL Staff
Jim Burklo
Reverend Jim Burklo is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California.
Reverend Burklo received his B.S. in Social Relations from UC Riverside, his M.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and his ministerial ordination from the United Church of Christ. He currently teaches at USC’s School of Social Work and he is a faculty mentor for the PPM course at the Keck School of Medicine. For eight years, he served as the ecumenical Protestant minister for the United Campus Christian Ministry at Stanford University, where he supervised student projects, retreats, and internships related to spirituality and social justice. Reverend Burklo serves on the executive council of The Center for Progressive Christianity and is the author of two books - Open Christianity: Home by Another Road and Birdlike and Barnless: Meditations, Prayers, Poems, and Songs for Progressive Christians.
While at Stanford University, Reverend Burklo served as the vice-chair of the Community Working Group-Opportunity Center, which built a $24 million housing complex for Palo Alto’s homeless residents. Reverend Burklo previously served as the Executive Director of the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto (now part of InnVision, Inc), an interfaith non-profit cooperation serving thousands of homeless people annually. He was also the Associate Director of the Ecumenical Hunger Program, an interfaith hunger relief agency based in East Palo Alto. Reverend Burklo is the former Pastor of Sausalito Presbyterian Church, a church characterized by its progressive theology and creative liturgy. He is also the former Minister of College Heights Church, a church distinguished by its commitment to spiritual growth through interfaith exploration.