I’m excited to announce that Will Burns has joined Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Academic Technology as the director for the Center for User Experience.
The Center for User Experience (CUE) is home to user experience and digital accessibility professionals who work, in partnership with university units and departments, to advance and support inclusive design to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff. The CUE director provides oversight, guidance, advocacy and support to the university to improve the accessibility and usability of existing and emerging digital experiences and technologies.
Will Burns brings his passion for inclusive design from the University of Michigan, where he managed the Digital User Experience team for 10 years. In this role, Will worked with university stakeholders to move a variety of initiatives forward—including the University of Michigan cohesive digital experience, focused on unifying the approach service and product owners employed for usability, accessibility and branding. The initiative replaced a 20-year-old legacy system and launched a modern primary gateway for University of Michigan faculty, staff and students that is designed with user needs for content, usability and accessibility.
Will’s extensive experience also includes creating and staffing the University of Michigan Digital Accessibility team to support education and compliance for the university digital accessibility policy.
“I am thrilled to be joining the talented team at the Center for User Experience,” says Will. “With this great opportunity, I look forward to leading and collaborating with colleagues to further advance the work of the center to support the missions of the university.”
Please join me in welcoming Will to his new role. His first day with UW–Madison is April 24, 2023.
—Tamara Walker, Academic Technology director