Wm. David Burns, Executive Director Emeritus

Wm. David Burns, Executive Director

Wm. David Burns, Executive Director Emeritus

David Burns is the executive director emeritus of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, founder and principal investigator of SENCER – a National Science Foundation supported faculty empowerment and curricular reform program, and publisher of Science Education and Civic Engagement – An International Journal. He also serves as principal investigator for the National Center’s Great Lakes Stewardship Through Education Network (GLISTEN) project, which is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, and directs another NSF-supported initiative to connect formal science education at the college level with informal science educators (museums, aquaria, science journalists, etc.), and the Engaging Mathematics project. Prior to establishing the National Center, David served as senior policy director for the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). During his nine years with AAC&U, he established the Center for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored Program for Health and Higher Education and created the Summer Symposia dedicated to exploring the power that students have to improve the health of colleges and communities. For 23 years, David was a member of the administration of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. David is the principal author and editor of the book, Learning for Our Common Health, and, among other publications, the article, “Knowledge to Make Our Democracy.” In 2008, the American Society for Cell Biology honored David and SENCER co-founder Karen Kashmanian Oates with the Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education. At the state level, David serves as a member of the (NJ) Governor’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. David’s undergraduate and graduate work (at Rutgers) was in political science with a concentration on political theory. He was a Woodrow Wilson National Fellow.

Email: david.burns@sencer.net