Lisa Burns

Dr. Lisa M. Burns is a Professor of Media Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Burns teaches courses including Media, History & Memory; Media Trend Forecasting & Strategy; Political Communication; Media Critics & Influencers; Sports, Media & Society; and Celebrity Culture.

Dr. Burns’ research interests include political communication, particularly media coverage of U.S. first ladies and presidents; media history; collective memory; and media criticism. Her edited collection Media Relations and the Modern First Lady: From Jacqueline Kennedy to Melania Trump came out in February 2020. She is also the author of First Ladies and the Fourth Estate: Press Framing of Presidential Wives (2008) and has published multiple journal articles and book chapters on presidential spouses. Her most recent work is a co-authored book chapter on Eleanor Roosevelt’s autobiographies. She also wrote two book chapters analyzing candidate branding and messaging strategies in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and post-election period. She was recognized as the School of Communications’ Faculty Scholar in 2023.

Dr. Burns recently joined the board of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill. She is also an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She currently serves on the Standing Committee on Teaching and chairs the History Division Mentor Program. She is also past head of the History Division and winner of the division’s Exceptional Service Award in 2021.

At Quinnipiac, she is a former chair of Quinnipiac's Faculty Senate, was the Quinnipiac Board of Trustees faculty representative, and chaired the Media Studies department and several Senate committees over the years. She received the James Marshall Award for Service to the Quinnipiac Community in 2019.

A former broadcast journalist, Dr. Burns won several awards for her work. The Pittsburgh, PA native is a self-professed “media junkie,” trivia nerd, and die-hard hockey fan.