Scott Burrus, PhD
“EDUCATION IS NOT PREPARATION FOR LIFE; EDUCATION IS LIFE ITSELF." JOHN DEWEY
Dr. Scott W.M. Burrus began his career in academic administration working with students to plan a successful path toward graduation. As he continued on his own education journey, Scott developed a college-located counseling center designed to address the academic, emotional and relational issues that hinder successful completion. At the same time, Scott developed an interest in how research informs practice, and he began to pursue his PhD in Psychology after having obtained a Master of Arts in Applied Psychology.For nearly two decades, Dr. Burrus has been involved in program development, management, evaluation, social policy research, and consultation. His experience includes program technical assistance, multi-site project management, research design, data and database management, data collection methods, and quantitative and qualitative methods analysis and policy and practice reporting focused on data utilization. Dr. Burrus’ primary content areas includes child abuse prevention, early childhood education, program development in schools, substance use prevention and treatment, child welfare policy, juvenile justice, and cost study applications.
Dr. Burrus has worked with Northcentral University since 2007, and currently serves as Northcentral University’s Vice Provost, providing day-to-day supervision over academic operations while supporting the University’s Deans. With Scott’s experience in educational and social policy research; and also serving in the capacity as an educational administrator and faculty member, Dr. Burrus advocates for a quality educational experience for both faculty and students from a position grounded in best practices and aligned with Northcentral’s mission.
With a depth of knowledge on a range of academic administrative areas, including, but not limited to course design, faculty training and education program improvement, Dr. Burrus has worked at various levels for a number of educational institutions (including brick and mortar, online, private, and public), bringing a multifaceted perspective to Northcentral’s student success.
Burrus currently lives in Scottsdale with his amazing family, which includes his wife Louisa, and two beautiful daughters, Annie and Maiya. Knowing that education is a process of continually learning, family is where the truth of John Dewey’s statement is lived out most for Scott as he learns something new each day as he parents his children and partners with his spouse. On the weekend, you will find Scott either at Annie and Maiya’s soccer game, or working toward his skydiving certification.