OC500 2025: PARKER KENNEDY & JIM BURRA

PARKER KENNEDY
CHAIR EMERITUS  

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY 

JIM BURRA 

CHAIR   

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY 

WHO: Kennedy served as the chairman and chief executive of Fortune 500 company First American Corp. from 2003 to 2010, following his father. He also chaired First Advantage Corp., a Nasdaq company ultimately sold to private equity and was president of the American Land Title Association. Burra spent 30 years building Endural, which manufactures a proprietary line of plastic boxes for the automotive, electronics and aerospace industries, into a significant supplier of reusable and recyclable products. In 2021, he sold Endural and retired from the board of directors of Semtech Corp., a producer of analog and mixed signal semiconductors. 

WHY: Kennedy follows his father’s lead in being a major backer of Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange. Practiced law for four years at Beverly Hills firm. Outside of Chapman, Kennedy serves on other nonprofit boards such as the Bowers Museum and The Boy Scouts of America. Burra joined Chapman’s board of governors in 1998 and board of trustees in 2011, saying he was impressed with the education that Chapman gave his daughter. 

NOTABLE: Kennedy announced $15M gift to Fowler School of Law in 2023. Named 2024 Businessperson of the Year in education for his contributions to Chapman. Stepped down as chairman in March; succeeded by Burra. During Kennedy’s four-year tenure, net assets increased 21% to $1.7B, the endowment grew 51% to $850M+ and the university launched the public phase of a $500M fundraising campaign that exceeded $400M by March.  

QUOTABLE: “Over the past quarter century, Chapman University has progressed from a very fine small college to an outstanding university. I have been fortunate to watch and be a small part of Chapman’s climb to excellence.” — Jim Burra