Rolanda C Burney
Rolanda C Burney is Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff to the Dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences. As a member of the College’s leadership team, she works closely with the Dean on numerous strategic initiatives and the day-to-day operations of the Dean’s office.
Dr. Burney grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she graduated from New Hanover High School before attending the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to earn her B.A. She earned an M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
She served as Chief of Staff to the Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she provided operational and fiscal leadership oversight for the Office of the Chancellor and led efforts to update and revise the UMass Discrimination, Harassment, and Interpersonal Violence policy and related procedures. Prior to that, she held similar administrative roles at Bennett College and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Dr. Burney's dynamic career in higher education encompasses roles in enrollment management and admission, student life and engagement, strategic planning, diversity, equity, and inclusion, board relations, and public affairs. She advocates for and models inclusive approaches to advance student learning and achievement.
A first-generation college graduate, she believes deeply in the transformative power of exceptional educational opportunities for all students. Both personally and professionally, she considers service to our community as the most important and effective use of our education.
Nationally, she has served as Vice Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Board Professionals Leadership Group and is currently Chair-Elect and Nominating Committee Chair for the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education (NAPAHE).
Active in her community, Dr. Burney is chair of the African American subcommittee for the UNC Alumni Committee on Racial & Ethnic Diversity; a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; and a member of The Links, Incorporated.
