Dec. 28, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati is pleased to announce the selection of University of Notre Dame graduate Robert R. Burger, MD ’81 of Green Township as the club’s 2013 Exemplar Award recipient. The award will be presented at the club’s annual Communion Breakfast to be held Sunday, January 6 at St. Xavier High School beginning with Mass at 9:00am and followed by a buffet breakfast. The Mass will be celebrated by the Rev. Paul Kollman, C.S.C., a professor of Theology at Notre Dame and Cincinnati native who is currently serving as the Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns. Fr. Kollman grew up in Montgomery and graduated from Moeller High School in 1980 and the University of Notre Dame in 1984 before earning a Master’s of Divinity degree from Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. The event is open to the public and breakfast tickets may be purchased on the club’s website (www.ndcincy.com). Prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and free for children ages five and under or members of a religious order. For reservations or more information, contact Don Karches at donk@merchandiseinc.com or 513-317-5836.

The Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati established the Exemplar Award in 2002 to promote and hold up as an example the achievements of individuals who have provided exemplary, life-long service to humanity in a manner consistent with the ideals of the University of Notre Dame. As a widely respected orthopaedic surgeon who is both distinguished in his field and very involved in his community, Dr. Bob Burger certainly meets these criteria.

Dr. Burger is with Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine and has been a member of their Executive Committee since joining the practice in 1997 and served as president from 2004-2009. He has also been Orthopaedic Surgery section head at Good Samaritan Hospital since 2005. In addition to his practice, he also serves as the medical director and head team physician for Xavier University and is one of the team physicians and orthopaedic consultants for the Cincinnati Reds and the College of Mount St. Joseph. Dr. Burger also provides coverage for LaSalle High School and the Cincinnati Steam baseball organization. In addition to being voted one of Cincinnati Magazine’s “Top Doctors” by area physicians six times, he was recognized with Ohio Outstanding Team Physician Awards in 2009 and 2010 by the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association and the Ohio Joint Advisory Commission on Sports Medicine, respectively.

Beyond these professional achievements, Dr. Burger is also very involved in the community. He has served on the Executive Board of the Right to Life Cincinnati Chapter since 2004 and is also a member of the Advisory Boards for LaSalle High School and the Athenaeum of Ohio. Since 1993, he has served on the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. He is an active member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church where he coached youth football for 10 years and has been involved with the St. Ignatius Fathers’ Club for 20 years, serving as co-director since 2000. He is also a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Notre Dame National Monogram Club.

Bob graduated from LaSalle High School in 1977 and earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Notre Dame in 1981 before attending the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Notably, he made the Notre Dame football team as a “walk-on” player his freshman year and played all four years, eventually earning a full athletic scholarship as well as First Team Academic All-American honors and the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Dolly Cohen Award, among many other honors. He earned his medical degree in 1985 and completed his surgical internship and orthopaedic residency at the University of Cincinnati, as well as a fellowship in orthopaedic sports medicine at the Hughston Orthopaedic Clinic in Columbus, Georgia.

Bob and his wife, Felicia, are the proud parents of four sons.

About the Exemplar Award:

The Exemplar Award was first awarded in 1997 as part of the University’s national “Generations” campaign, and then formally established locally as an annual club award in 2002. Its purpose is to promote and hold up as an example the ideals and achievements of individuals from Greater Cincinnati or the University community who have provided exemplary, life-long service to humanity through career or volunteer involvement in a manner consistent with the ideals of the University. Exemplar Award honorees need not be graduates of Notre Dame nor involved with the University or the local club.

About the Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati

The Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati is an active local organization serving the more than 1600 graduates, students and friends of the University of Notre Dame in the Tri-state area. In addition to providing over $100,000 in scholarship support each year to local students attending Notre Dame, the club also sponsors approximately fifty events or programs annually, including opportunities for community service, continuing education, and Catholic/Christian spirituality. Membership and club events are open to friends of Notre Dame, whether or not they attended the University. For more information, visit the club website at www.ndcincy.com.

Previous recipients: P. Declan O'Sullivan (2012) Carole Rechtsteiner Adlard '74 (2011) Kathleen Thompson Sullivan, '82 MA,'87 PhD (2010) Thomas A. Brisken '71 (2009) Sheila Braun Reynolds, SMC '81 (2006) Sr. Marie Irene Schneider '70 MA (2005) William J. Schickel '44 (2004) John C. Willke MD '83 Hon. (2003) Joe & Shirley Speaks (2002) Don Gardner '60, Nancy Kayes, and Amy Leroux '92 (1997)

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