Bridget Burns

CEO, University Innovation Alliance

Dr. Bridget Burns is transforming how universities collaborate to drive student success. As founding CEO of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), she has pioneered a groundbreaking model for institutional collaboration that has produced remarkable results: 164,000 additional graduates, a doubling of graduates of color, and a 43% increase in low-income graduates since 2014.

Named one of the "16 Most Innovative People in Higher Education" by Washington Monthly, Dr. Burns serves as a trusted advisor to university presidents, system chancellors, and policy leaders nationwide. Her expertise in institutional transformation and student success has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, 60 Minutes, and the documentary "Unlikely."

Dr. Burns's vision for acellerating the scale and diffusion of innovation in higher education was shaped during her experience as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at Arizona State University, where she worked alongside ASU President Michael Crow, UIA's founding chair. She previously served as the Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor for the Oregon University System where she won a national award for her leadership driving significant governance reforms.

Bridget is an international keynote speaker sharing insights from the work of the UIA to inspire change and innovation across higher education. She is also the executive producer and host of the Innovating Together Podcast, and the show Weekly Wisdom broadcast on Inside Higher Ed. She currently serves on the Advisory board of Working Nation.

Public service:

• Oregon State Board of Higher Education 
• Oregon Student Assistance Commission
• Oregon Commission for Children and Families
• Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature

Select Publications

• Burns, B. (2024). Redesigning higher education around student success. In E. Ray (Ed.), A handbook of higher education leadership (pp. 105–118). Oregon State University. 
• Burns, B. (2021). Higher education needs to get comfortable with trial and error. The Hechinger Report.
• Burns, B. (2018). College wasn’t designed around student success. Here’s how to fix it. EdSurge.
• Burns, B. (2016). Knowing—and reaching—your EdTech audience. EdSurge.
• Burns, B. (2016). The tough-love advice EdTech needs to hear. EdSurge.
• Burns, B. (2016). Big data’s coming of age in higher education. Forbes.
• Burns, B. (2015). We need to stop giving campus leaders the wrong advice. Educause Review.
• Burns, B. (2015). Innovating together: Collaboration as a driving force to improve student success. Educause Review.