Burnett headed to Bison Hill as VP for Enrollment Management

OBU is excited to announce that Brad Burnett is coming to Bison Hill as vice president for enrollment management to lead the admissions, graduate and online recruitment, and student financial services teams.

Burnett has been associated with financial aid and enrollment management in a career spanning more than 30 years. He will assume his duties at OBU effective Sept. 11.

Most recently, Burnett, a Shawnee resident, has served as associate vice president for enrollment management and director of financial aid at the University of Oklahoma. In that role, he has supervised and provided strategic vision to about 50 full-time employees in the areas of Financial Aid Services, Student Financial Center, Money Coaches, Scholarships Office and Technology Services.

“I am beyond excited to welcome Brad Burnett to our OBU team,” OBU President Dr. Heath A. Thomas said. “He brings decades of experience in financial aid and enrollment management at the highest level. His creativity, proven leadership and work ethic will inspire us to new heights. He is excited about our direction and mission and wants to take us to the next level. I look forward to working closely with him.”

Burnett earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Pittsburg State University in 1987 and in 1989 a Master of Arts Degree in Communications/Public Relations from Pittsburg State University.

He has worked in various capacities at Youngstown State, Kansas State, and Armstrong Atlantic State Universities. He stepped out of higher education twice and became a government contractor working on Department of Education projects that included moving financial aid application data to the Internet and the creation of FAFSA on the Web.

In 2001 he was hired as OU’s Director of Financial Aid. In 2011, Burnett was promoted to associate vice president of Enrollment and Student Financial Services. He created a course called “The Nine Things Every College Student Should Know About Money”. In 2015, the course was awarded the Gold Star for innovation in financial literacy by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Before that, he received the OU Board of Regents Award for Superior Service in 2014 and in 2015 also earned the University College Outstanding Seminar Instructor.

“I want to thank President Thomas and the OBU community for providing me with this exciting opportunity,” Burnett said. “The cohesiveness and family atmosphere of the OBU community is palatable and I’m excited to be joining the Bison Hill family. My time in higher education has been project driven and goal oriented. I have a vested interest in the success of OBU students, the University, and the community overall. Our society depends on us building up fine young men and women to lead our citizenry into a future filled with faith, hope and charity and by God’s grace, we will do just that.”

Burnett, an Army veteran, attends Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee.

“My family and I are Christian and believe in the importance of a strong Christian worldview as the basis for our values and a guide in life decisions,” Burnett said. “My prayer for years has been that God would put me in a position where I could fulfill His goals, His wishes and His purpose for my life. It is my sincere belief that God placed me at OBU as an answer to that prayer.”