When Don Burnett agreed to become the interim president of the University of Idaho, he did so with the feeling that he was repaying a debt to the university and he couldn’t have been more willing to do so.
University of Idaho interim President Don Burnett and Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney welcome agricultural engineering freshman Derrick Mamer to the university Thursday at the Theophilus Tower dorms.
Both of Burnett’s parents attended the University of Idaho during the great depression.
“My mother worked in the library,” Burnett said. “She was earning 35 cents an hour and was darn glad to have a job.”
At the end of a fall semester, Burnett’s mother had to make the choice between sending gifts to her family in Wallace, Idaho or taking the bus to see them herself but she couldn’t do both.
“She didn’t have enough money to do both,” Burnett said. “But she got at the end of the semester at 15 cent raise and was able to utilize that to be able to go home and take some modest gifts to her family. Later, when I talked to them about it no one had much money but no one felt poor because everyone was in it together. I think that sense of loyalty to a university where everyone is in it together animates a lot of my effort and my willingness to take on this job.”
Though Burnett’s time in the President’s office won’t be long term, he said he will be working toward the long and short term goals of the university.
“Making sure that we not only have a balanced budget, but a stable budget going forward is a main priority of mine,” Burnett said.
Stabilizing the budget, composing budget requests for the next fiscal year, promoting interdisciplinary research and focusing on the safety and welfare of all students on campus — particularly in regard to alcohol safety — are just a few of the things Burnett plans to concentrate on this year.
“We want to make sure every student that comes to the University of Idaho feels valued, feels welcome, has a positive learning experience,” Burnett said. “Many people come to the university for the first time without much experience with diversity. We want to make sure that diversity in all of its forms — not just racial diversity, but all kinds — that people of all different backgrounds find that they can grow and learn from each other and find the value of civil discourse and respectful sharing of ideas. That’s an important function of the university and we want everyone to feel valued in that process.”
The job of the president
Burnett officially took over the presidency June 1 and said it was the sheer volume of issues that come through the president’s office that surprised him the most.
As the dean of the UI Law School Burnett oversaw one college. Now as the president he oversees more than 10 academic units as well as every campus department. He said the position comes with both an internal and an external component.
“There’s a vice president or someone through whom the president works, and for that reason I think on the internal side of the job the president isn’t quite as visible because there’s always one other person between the president and the particular task,” Burnett said.
Burnett said on the external side of the job, his role is more direct.
“The president is expected to maintain relations with donors to the university including playing a role in the successful completion of our Capital Campaign.” Burnett said. “There’s a public policy aspect of the job which includes working with the legislature, working with the state board of education which is also the board of regents.”
Burnett said the president also has a public communication role, which includes letting alumni, friends of UI and the general public know what is happening in the university.
After the presidency
Burnett isn’t yet sure what he plans to do once the presidency has been permanently filled, but said it will likely have something to do with law which is where is interests mainly lie. He said he could return to the law school faculty, but is also interest in playing a role in the development of the Idaho Law Learning Center.
“There are a number of issues relating to my discipline — law,” Burnett said. “Helping the public understand the actual operation of our legal system, which isn’t always accurate with the cases that are newsworthy. I think this is a crying need of our society and it may be that when I set aside the duties of my current job I can invest more time in that.”
Burnett said as an Idaho native he also plans to spend much of his free time in the outdoors once he has the time do so.
Whatever Burnett’s path is once he finishes his time in the president’s office, he said the family debt he owes is one he’ll always remember.
“Whatever my parents became they said they owed to the University of Idaho. And whatever my brother and I became we owed to our parents and therefore also owe to the University of Idaho,” Burnett said. “I’m on board for whatever the university needs from me.”
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]