People

Faculty Spotlight

Burnes to serve as senior fellow

Nonnie Burnes (Law '78), who has worked as Massachusetts state commissioner of the Division of Insurance since February 2007, will join the Northeastern faculty Oct. 1 as a senior fellow.

Burnes said she plans to teach an interdisciplinary course which will cover law, business, public policy, political science and governmental regulation.

The senior fellow is a new position, she said, and the specifics of the job are still in the works because the entire process progressed very quickly. She said she thinks the title is flexible enough to meet both her and Northeastern's expectations.

"I think that the practical experience really can illuminate the theory," Burnes said. "As we might be talking about 'How would you regulate this market?' If you want people to behave a certain way, how can you structure a regulation to get there?' And having seen the way people respond to regulation, I think I'll have much more insight into it and kind of assist students in thinking about that."

Burnes said she hopes to teach students in her course to achieve a balance in making and interpreting the law. She said she plans to emphasize real world situations necessitating compromise that often only appear outside of the classroom.

"[Northeastern] provides more depth in terms of the theoretical understanding of the law, which is really what I'm sort of after in ... developing this course as a senior fellow," Burnes said. "I think it's the best law school there is."

Though Burnes does not have a degree in education, she cited experience as a teacher's assistant in law school and an instructor in many courses for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education program. She said she also plans to integrate her many years of practical experience into her course. Burnes graduated from Northeastern's Law School in 1978 and currently holds a position on the Board of Trustees. She served as a justice on the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1996 to 2007, and then as the Commissioner of the Division of Insurance.

As head of the division, she said she oversaw regulation of many lines of insurance, like homeowners', automobile, life, health, and even wedding insurance. Burnes also oversaw consumer protection efforts, including a consumer hotline she said gets 1,500 calls a month, and educational outreaches using both print and online media.

At the Division of Insurance Burnes said she championed the deregulation of the auto insurance industry. Burnes described the effort as difficult and controversial, yet said she believed the reform satisfied consumers. She cited a study that found that in the first year, consumers saved about $273 million thanks to the changes implemented during her term.

Burnes said auto insurance reform was the biggest project of her time as commissioner. Now that the new system is working out, she said she feels secure in leaving the position to someone else. "This was an opportunity at Northeastern that, you know, I might not always have the opportunity to do," Burnes said. "This hit at the right moment."

"One of our signatures at Northeastern is integrating classroom education with the world around us," President Joseph Aoun said in a press release.

"In this spirit, we are thrilled to have someone with Nonnie's professional accomplishments bring her knowledge and expertise to the students."