Michael E. Burns is a second year Ph.D. student and graduate teaching assistance in the Department of Communication at North Dakota State University. Burns completed his B.S. in Communication with a Minor in Film from Ohio University in 2005. After finishing his undergraduate career, Burns completed his M.A. in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Training and Development in 2007 from Texas State University-San Marcos where he also received the Graduate Student of the Year Award from the College of Arts and Humanities.
After finishing his masters degree, Burns worked for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as a Public Relations Specialist. Burns also worked for NBC’s Today Show as a Production Coordinator for both the 2006 and 2008 Olympic Games. In 2008 Burns left the television world to begin his journey in higher education.
Burns takes an applied approach to research and focuses mainly on how to use communication to improve the higher education system. Burns’ main research interests include instructional communication, persuasion, and message development on college campuses. He specifically studies the effectiveness of using narratives as a persuasive tool for student recruitment and engagement. Burns also has an interest in health communication, primarily focusing on health promotion and patient education.
Burns’ teaching interests include public speaking, persuasion, human communication, and training and development. He is currently teaching one section of persuasive speaking and one section of public speaking and in the spring he will teach a large lecture of human communication. Burns hopes to finish his Ph.D. in 2011.
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