Bridget Burns

Innovation and Change Expert, Higher Education Evangelist & CEO of the University Innovation Alliance

Bridget Burns

Innovation and Change Expert, Higher Education Evangelist & CEO of the University Innovation Alliance

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Biography

Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly magazine, Dr. Bridget Burns is an innovation, collaboration and student success expert, presidential advisor, and CEO. Her work has been highlighted in national outlets like The New York Times, Fast Company, 60 Minutes, and she was featured in the documentary Unlikely.

From growing up with humble origins in a low-income family in rural Montana, to serving as a trusted advisor to more than 40 college presidents, Bridget is on a mission to transform the way higher education thinks about innovation and change, and takes action to serve low-income, first generation, and students of color.

She is the founding CEO of the award-winning University Innovation Alliance, is a multi-campus laboratory for student success innovation focused on dramatically increasing the number and diversity of college graduates through testing, scaling and implementing innovative practices. Founded in 2014, the UIA campuses have achieved massive change for their nearly half a million students, including increasing the number of low-income graduates by 46%, and graduates of color by 85% along the way.

Her conversational style melds storytelling, standup comedy, practical tools, and candid insights leaving audiences inspired and motivated to drive change regardless of where they sit on the org chart.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Bridget received her Doctorate of Education from Vanderbilt University in Higher Education, Leadership & Policy.

Speaker Videos

Changing the Culture of Higher Education, Together

Purpose, Inspiration, and Community

Innovating College to Career | SXSW EDU

Redesigning Higher Ed for Student Success | NISTS 2020 Annual Conference

Preparing for Higher Education (Funny Video)

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Speech Topics

Transforming the Future of Higher Education Around Student Success

Learn how to drive sustainable innovation from any seat on the org chart while identifying the key changes your institution should make to adapts to the needs of future learners.

Dr. Bridget Burns will draw upon her extensive experience working across the most innovative universities in higher education, helping you clarify what to focus on, the key questions your institution needs to ask, and the first steps you should take.

This keynote session will not only leave you energized to begin implementing new strategies, it will give you the tools you need to roll up your sleeves and begin the work.

You’ll learn how to:

Create the time, space and structure for innovation
Sustainably support student centered transformation
Start small and scale your efforts to create massive change without overwhelm
Surface key questions to support a more innovative culture on your campus

Innovating Higher Education for the New Normal

Leveraging proven tactics enable sustainable innovation and progress, (despite burnout and a rapidly changing context.)
How higher education can shift and adapt to meet the needs of new majority learners, adult learners, and the students of the future.
The key questions institutions should be asking themselves to navigate, survive, and lead in the new normal.
Reimagining higher education to meet the needs of future learners in the new normal (flexible, bite sized, and digitally enabled.)

Insights Inspire Innovation: Transforming Higher Education Around Student Success

True innovation involves a combination of building on what works and trying new things. How do you find the right balance and decide which experiments are worth the effort? Using analytics, proactive advising, completion grants, and other innovative strategies, the University Innovation Aliance’s (UIA) 11 campuses have managed to increase their graduates of color by 85% and low income graduates by 46% (on top of already exceeding their public goal to produce 68,000 more graduates by 2025).

In this keynote you will learn how you can make a similar impact at your school. Dr. Bridget Burns will share her insights into the ways proven tactics enable sustainable innovation and progress as higher education adapts to the needs of future learners. She’ll discuss how to identify areas of focus, ask tough questions, and take the first steps toward progress. This keynote session will not only leave you energized to return to campus and begin implementing new strategies, but will give you the tools you need to roll up your sleeves and begin the work.

You’ll learn how to:

Create the time, space and structure for innovation
Sustainably support student centered transformation
Start small and scale your efforts to create massive change without overwhelm
Use process mapping to center students in your systems and design
Surface key questions to support a more innovative culture on your campus
Apply analytics and meaningful metrics to drive engagement and measure success

Innovation, Collaboration & Preparing for the Future of Higher Education

Innovating Together

Scaling Innovation

Transforming Higher Education Around Student Success

How Higher Education Can Thrive in the Future of Higher Education

Testimonials

"Dr. Burns was great. Exactly what we wanted. People were really engaged. Lots of note and picture taking. So she definitely hit the mark."

- Top Hat

"Ms. Burns was fantastic! The reviews from her keynote presentation were extremely positive. It was a pleasure working with you and your team and we look forward to working with you in the future."

- Watermark Insights

"Our audience loved Bridget. She was the perfect end to the conference, and my only regret is that we didn’t engage her sooner. Everything went well onsite. Bridget made it with time to spare and did an excellent job with her session and the Q&A after. She was direct, but very pleasant. Our leadership was very pleased with the outcome."

- Campus Logic

“Bridget was amazing!”

- Intuitive

"I thought Bridget Burns did an outstanding job at the SACUBO Annual Meeting in Miami! Great insight into higher education, really connected with our audience in an impactful way!"

- SACUBO