He is a professor of Classical Studies at Wellesley College and co-director of the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project.
[3] Upon earning his PhD in Classical art and archaeology, Burns joined the faculty at the University of Southern California until 2008 when he accepted a position at Wellesley College.
[2] Within his first few years at Wellesley, Burns earned a fellowship at Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies.
[6] As co-director of the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project, Burns also spends his summer with students excavating a Bronze Age settlement in Greece.
[2][7] Burns regularly takes students from Wellesley college to Greece through the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project Field School as part of an international team of scholars and students that participate in the excavation project at Eleon.