Steven Burrell – Northern Arizona University

Nestled on 740 acres in the pine-covered mountain town of Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University stands as a hub of innovation and access. A high-research university, NAU’s mission is to provide equitable postsecondary opportunities for students throughout Arizona and beyond. With its extensive online programs, Personalized Learning initiative and more than 30 community campuses across the state—including NAU-Yuma and NAU-North Phoenix Valley—the university is uniquely positioned to bring education within reach of diverse student populations.

Behind the scenes of this expansive network stands Steven Burrell, the university’s vice president for IT and chief information officer since 2016. As a higher education technology leadership veteran, Burrell has spent more than four decades steering institutions through waves of digital change. As he winds down his career, he is focused on ensuring that the systems, people, and philosophies he helped build continue to thrive into the future.

“A CIO shouldn’t have a run longer than about 10 years,” Burrell tells Toggle. “It’s soon going to be time to hand it off, but I want to do it the right way—because this university, and the people in it, deserve that.”

That sense of stewardship is a theme that runs throughout Burrell’s career. From his early days at Colorado State University and Hutchinson Community College to leadership roles at Plymouth State, Saint Leo, and Georgia Southern, Burrell has led by preparing others to lead. At NAU, he’s already seen two team members move on to become CIOs elsewhere.

“Succession planning in higher education is dicey at best,” he says. “But I’ve done good work with my direct reports and feel confident about the people here. The university may do a national search, and I believe they’ll find the right fit. I know there is a lot of interest in what NAU is doing.”

Smart campus, smarter future

One of Burrell’s most visible contributions to NAU is the university’s 10-year Sustainable Smart Campus master plan, which took two years to develop and is currently in the implementation phase. The goal is to create an innovative, connected campus that operates efficiently, supports sustainability, and improves the student experience.

“We’re not just layering technology over what we already do,” Burrell explains. “We’re rethinking how we operate. We’re bridging traditional silos, especially between IT and facilities, to make smarter decisions that save time, money, and resources.”

The university has partnered with Willow Inc., a company specializing in digital sustainability tools, to help track and manage energy use and infrastructure performance across NAU’s 200 buildings. NAU is the first university to implement Willow’s non-proprietary digital twin technology—an achievement that places it at the forefront of smart campus initiatives in higher education.

Northern Arizona University chose Willow to help advance its Smart Campus Master Plan and Climate Action Plan goals. By creating a comprehensive digital twin of its sprawling campus, NAU consolidates data from multiple systems across 129 buildings—including energy metering, building automation, and occupancy sensors—into a unified, virtual representation, or knowledge graph, of devices, mechanical systems, and their relationships. This unlocked real-time, actionable insights for the university and enabled proactive management of energy consumption, occupancy patterns, and maintenance needs.

Within a year, Willow identified over $200,000 in avoidable costs, showcasing its impact on operational efficiency and sustainability. Through this partnership, NAU is transforming its campus into a smarter, more sustainable environment supporting current operations and future growth.

Two digital twins are now in place. The first is a public-facing planning tool that allows stakeholders to assess how building placements, renovations, and space usage impact energy consumption and staffing. The second, the Willow active digital twin, functions behind the scenes to track sustainability data and guide the university’s push toward carbon neutrality by 2030.

“Digital twins give us a real-time lens into our operations,” Burrell says. “We can now automate many processes that were once manual, obtaining immediate insights into how our built world is performing, freeing up time and helping us act proactively instead of reactively.”

The impact of this effort goes beyond the NAU campus. Burrell and his team are committed to sharing their findings with other universities to help build a community of practice around sustainable technology adoption.

Embracing AI’s opportunities & challenges

As technology evolves, Burrell has never shied away from the challenges that come with it. Today, artificial intelligence is transforming the landscape of higher education—and Burrell believes it’s just the beginning.

“When PCs came out in the 1980s, people asked, ‘Why do I need a $5,000 computer just to type a paper?’” he says. “The same is happening now with AI. People are skeptical, but in time, it’ll become the norm. It already is for students.”

AI analyzes static and active data at NAU, helping tradespeople and other university staff become more efficient. AI tools also improve problem-solving, enable data-informed decision-making, and support sustainability efforts. Burrell said that NAU is one of the few institutions applying AI in these cross-functional, real-world ways.

“It’s not about replacing people with technology. It’s about helping them do their jobs better,” he says. “We want people to trust the AI tools and use them naturally, not fear them.”

Still, not everyone adapts at the same pace. Burrell noted the generational divide when it comes to technology.

“Our young people—students and staff alike—prefer self-help resources, chatbots, and FAQs. Older faculty? They want to call someone and talk it through. That takes more time and effort, but it’s what they need, and we can’t take that away from them,” he says. “The challenge is balancing those expectations as we transition into smarter systems.”

In his view, AI won’t replace human connection—it will enhance it.

“Technology will continue to advance humanity,” Burrell says. “The real challenge is not the tech, but how we use our humanity to do meaningful work with it.”

A legacy of leadership & learning

Burrell’s approach to leadership is deeply personal, shaped by a lifetime of observing, mentoring, and serving. He recalls walking a frightened nine-year-old classmate to her door when he was only six.

“My mother would tell me these stories. I didn’t realize then that I was already naturally leading in small ways,” he says.

He credits early mentors and formative moments with helping him understand the dynamics of leadership and followership. From high school and college football teams to Rotary clubs, from philosophy professors using Apple II computers to managing transitions in complex university systems, Burrell has always believed leadership is about serving others.

“Everyone has a boss. Someone is leading everyone. Learning to be a good leader is about first being a good follower,” he says. “Leadership is not about the title. It’s about asking the right questions and being comfortable not having all the answers.”

Burrell holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Georgia Southern University and has been a Professor of Practice at NAU, advising doctoral students in leadership. After retirement, he plans to continue teaching leadership courses and mentoring the next generation of IT professionals.

“After 43 years of leading technology initiatives in higher education, I’m ready to try something new and different,” he says. “I’m looking forward to doing some college teaching, writing some books, and getting that captain’s license so I can lead coastal excursions.”

And yet, even in his final years at NAU, Burrell is fully engaged. He speaks with clarity about quantum computing, copyright education, spiritual intelligence, and the evolving definition of work. He sees a future where robots and AI handle many mundane tasks people no longer want to do.

“It’s going to change what we think of as work dramatically,” he says. “But necessity is the mother of invention. And higher education is going to have to shrink, adapt, and transform, relying more on technology.”

For Burrell, technology has always been a means to a higher purpose.

“It’s not about being the sage on the stage,” he says. “It’s about lighting the path for others.”

As Northern Arizona University continues its transformation, it will do so with the tools and philosophies Burrell helped put in place. His legacy is one of technological progress, mentorship, humanity and vision.

“The more I learn,” he says, smiling, “the less I know.”