On this episode of CBO Speaks, Case Western Reserve University CBO Brian Burnett joins host Melissa Farley. Burnett started his career in 1988 on Colorado’s state budget staff. Since then, he’s led finance divisions at five universities. He talks about building trust through transparency, his “Finance Academy” model, and how Case Western Reserve is approaching AI.
From State Budgets to University Finance
Burnett got his start in 1988 on Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee, the nonpartisan staff that builds the state’s entire budget each year. “Once a budget analyst, always a budget analyst,” he says—”you ask hard questions.” That mindset carried him through senior finance roles at the University of Colorado, the University of Missouri, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, before he joined Case Western Reserve in January 2025.
Leading as an Educator First
Early in his career, a mentor—University of Maryland, Baltimore County president Freeman Hrabowski—gave Burnett advice he’s built his leadership around: “You see yourself as an educator first and a rule enforcer second, and I think you’ll have more success.” Burnett has practiced that ever since through the Finance Academy, a recurring session where campus leaders walk through the university’s full financial picture together.
Two Decades in the Black
Case Western Reserve is marking its 200th anniversary. Burnett points to a number alongside it: 19 consecutive years finishing the fiscal year in the black. Last year, a $125 million gift from the Mandel Foundation—the largest in the university’s history—funded a new humanities building. Burnett credits the streak to a taxonomy he calls “The Colors of Money,” which sorts revenue by how restricted it is, from federal grants to unrestricted tuition.
Bringing AI Into University Finance
Case Western Reserve already has AI in six to ten fall classes. Its law school was the first in the U.S. to require an AI competency for its J.D. Burnett co-chairs a committee looking at where AI can streamline work like procurement and HR, and uses tools like Google’s Gemini to sort the 50 to 100 emails he gets each day.
An Educator’s Approach to the Numbers
What connects Burnett’s career, from Colorado’s statehouse to a $1.5 billion university budget, is one habit: treat every number like an analyst, and every relationship like an educator. It’s paid off for nineteen years running, and it’s what he’s now handing down to the CBOs coming up behind him.
Before You Listen
How long has Brian Burnett worked in higher ed and government finance?
Since 1988, starting on Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee.
What is Burnett’s “Finance Academy”?
A recurring session, created in 2014, where campus leaders review the university’s full financial picture together.
How long has Case Western Reserve finished the year in the black?
19 consecutive years.
About Brian Burnett
Brian Burnett is executive vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Case Western Reserve University, overseeing a $1.5 billion operating budget. He joined in January 2025 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and was named a 2020 CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Resources
- Brian Burnett’s faculty page at Case Western Reserve
- NACUBO
- Check out NACUBO’s other podcasts:
