Chief Change Officer #360 Bridget Burns: Breaking the Higher Ed Hunger Games—Part Two
If students are graduating into a broken job market, can we really call that success?
In Part Two, Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, zooms out to expose the cracks between graduation and employment—and shares what it actually takes to close them. From outdated career services buried in basement offices to siloed AI initiatives happening in secret, Bridget makes the case for a total redesign of higher education’s operating system.
With a blend of empathy and systems thinking, she outlines how her team redesigned career prep using design sprints, empathy interviews, and playbooks adopted across campuses. If you care about mobility, modern learning, or making education work for today’s students, this conversation goes beyond policy—it gets personal.
Key Highlights of Our Interview:
Nobody Likes Change—Unless It’s Theirs
“Everyone who says they like change is a liar. You only like the change you helped create.”
Empathy Is a Skill, Not a Soft Word
“People are walking around with broken hearts—because leaders shelved the thing they built or made them feel disposable.”
AI in Higher Ed: Same Problems, New Arms Race
“Thousands of staff are working on the same AI problem in silos. What a waste.”
The Risk of Reinventing the Wheel—Again and Again
“Everyone’s designing alone, heads down. Students lose while schools compete.”
Career Services, Reimagined from Scratch
“We mapped the mess, interviewed students, and redesigned career prep as part of the classroom—not just a résumé workshop in the basement.”
Faculty as Career Coaches? Yes, and Here’s How
“We embedded career activities into every course, starting from day one.”
From Data Deserts to Playbooks
“Most schools didn’t even track career services usage. That’s not strategy—that’s hiding the scoreboard.”
The Real Measure of Value: Social Mobility at Scale
“We’re done with ‘graduate and goodbye.’ Now we’re building systems that track—and improve—students’ lives after college.”
Designing a Smart Future, Not Just Smart Classrooms
“Higher ed wasn’t built for today’s students. We’re fixing that—with urgency, alignment, and a new North Star: mobility.”
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Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Bridget Burns
--Chief Change Officer--
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