Educator First, Rule Enforcer Second: Building Trust in Higher Ed Finance with Case Western Reserve CBO Brian Burnett

So you've spent more than 35 years in public service and have built a career that spans both state government and higher education.

I want you to take us back to the beginning.

What first drew you toward this work? And when did you realize that higher education finance was where you wanted to build your career?

Well, I got my starting state government in my home state of Colorado when I was selected to join the staff of the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly.

And in that state, a joint committee of the House and Senate put the entire state budget together for the state on an annual basis.

And Through there, all of state government goes through that committee.

And so you get a really great picture of state government and its services and how it interacts with the federal government and how it interacts with local government.

So my real big break was back in 1988, getting the selection to be on the Joint Budget Committee staff, because it just opened up this world that was so foreign to me.

just about how government works.

And in that, you got to see how highways were and transportation was financed.

You got to see how higher education was financed.

It was a time of great change in Colorado at the initiative and the ballot level where we had term limits introduced and voted on by voters.

We had a taxpayer bill of rights that was adopted by the voters that had changed the way the state government had to manage its finances.

And I was part of the team that implemented that statutorily back in 1993.

So my great grounding in this role in higher education, this piece of it, was just getting to see the inner workings of Colorado state government by being assigned different parts of the government as an analyst and advisor to the committee.

And it's a nonpartisan committee, so you have a lot of ability to interact with the governor's office and different governors and different staff members.

So that was really the big piece.

And it was fascinating.

While I was doing that, I decided to go back and get my master's in finance across town at the Denver Fianca City University of Colorado.

So while I was finishing, still working for the Joint Graduate Committee is when I was working on my master's in the evening was at the Denver campus.

So that finance piece combined with writing the state budget for several years for the state, piqued my interest in state government and more notably, higher education.

It's definitely a unique background.

I don't believe I've talked to another CFO with this particular background.

I'm curious if you can share, are there specific skills or maybe just lessons that you learned even now that originated from your time working in government?

Well, you're asked by the legislators and the staff director to take a hard look at what agencies are requesting in their budget and to ask hard questions.

So you've spent more than 35 years in public service and have built a career that spans both state government and higher education.

I want you to take us back to the beginning.

What first drew you toward this work? And when did you realize that higher education finance was where you wanted to build your career?

Well, I got my starting state government in my home state of Colorado when I was selected to join the staff of the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly.

And in that state, a joint committee of the House and Senate put the entire state budget together for the state on an annual basis.

And Through there, all of state government goes through that committee.

And so you get a really great picture of state government and its services and how it interacts with the federal government and how it interacts with local government.

So my real big break was back in 1988, getting the selection to be on the Joint Budget Committee staff, because it just opened up this world that was so foreign to me.

just about how government works.

And in that, you got to see how highways were and transportation was financed.

You got to see how higher education was financed.

It was a time of great change in Colorado at the initiative and the ballot level where we had term limits introduced and voted on by voters.

We had a taxpayer bill of rights that was adopted by the voters that had changed the way the state government had to manage its finances.

And I was part of the team that implemented that statutorily back in 1993.

So my great grounding in this role in higher education, this piece of it, was just getting to see the inner workings of Colorado state government by being assigned different parts of the government as an analyst and advisor to the committee.

And it's a nonpartisan committee, so you have a lot of ability to interact with the governor's office and different governors and different staff members.

So that was really the big piece.

And it was fascinating.

While I was doing that, I decided to go back and get my master's in finance across town at the Denver Fianca City University of Colorado.

So while I was finishing, still working for the Joint Graduate Committee is when I was working on my master's in the evening was at the Denver campus.

So that finance piece combined with writing the state budget for several years for the state, piqued my interest in state government and more notably, higher education.

It's definitely a unique background.

I don't believe I've talked to another CFO with this particular background.

I'm curious if you can share, are there specific skills or maybe just lessons that you learned even now that originated from your time working in government?

Well, you're asked by the legislators and the staff director to take a hard look at what agencies are requesting in their budget and to ask hard questions.