Annie Hunt Burriss
Special Assistant to the President

Ms. Burriss enables MCG to meet its statewide health sciences mission of teaching, research and service in ways that are both mission-centered and market-smart. Her work allows the Medical College of Georgia to better collaborate with its strategic partners statewide in academia, business and government.

Ms. Burriss is focusing initially on expansion of the MCG School of Medicine, aligning MCG's research with the economic future of Georgia and facilitating improved and expanded medical and health education programs across the University System's 35 colleges and universities in coordination with private-sector partners.

Ms. Burriss served as senior advisor to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue from 2002-03 and executive director of the governor's Commission for a New Georgia from 2004-05. During that time, she cost-effectively realigned state programs, saving millions of tax dollars and improving productivity through diverse areas such as workforce development, fleet and real estate management, leadership development and customer service.

Prior to that, she served as assistant vice chancellor for development and economic services, then as associate vice chancellor for economic development for the University System. During those eight years, Ms. Burriss created the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program to expedite degree programs for high-demand, low-supply professions. She also developed www.GeorgiaHire.com, an online resource to match University System graduates with employers, eventually securing federal grants to enable alumni and students of Georgia's private institutions of higher education to participate.

Ms. Burriss also has worked in economic development roles for Georgia Power and the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. In 1989, she founded a biomedical partnership, now known as Georgia Bio, to effectively link business, academia and government.

Most recently she served as associate provost for evening degree programs and deputy to the president for community affairs for Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.

Ms. Burriss is past president of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and has been named five times among Georgia Trend magazine's 100 most influential Georgians.

She earned a master of city planning degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979 and is completing an executive doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Additional Information

• Economic Development