In Memoriam: Ruth Ann Shea Burns, 1944-2023

Ruth Ann Burns, a journalist and educational administrator, died on April 9 in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. She was 78 years old.

Burns grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and attended St. Peter’s High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Rutgers University. While a student at Rutgers, she spent a summer covering the Vietnam War. She was the youngest accredited war correspondent in Vietnam at the time.

Burns went on to complete her master’s degree as a fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers. While working toward a Ph.D. in political science, she became a senior research and program associate at its Center for the American Woman and Politics, where she developed management and political training programs for elected officials and public sector managers.

In 1981, Burns began an 18-year career at WNET-TV, the public broadcasting station in the New York area. She then formed the Burns Group, a consultancy specializing in communications, marketing, branding, higher education, and public affairs and serving a diverse client base including foundations, corporations, and not-for-profit institutions. She later served as vice president of marketing and external affairs for Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. She also served on the board of trustees of Rutgers University.