Burns recently successfully defended her doctoral dissertation to complete a Ph.D. in Media and Communication from Bowling Green State University. Her emphasis area was interpersonal communication, and her work included a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her dissertation is titled “Identity and Romantic Relational Meaning-Making After Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence.”

Burns also received B.A. (2012) and M.A. (2016) degrees in Communication Studies from Northern Illinois University.

She will join the faculty having taught a wide range of communication courses at both Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. Burns has also shared her gifts and knowledge in interpersonal communication as a domestic and sexual violence advocate, and frequently speaks and teaches in the community on issues related to sexual violence.