University of Idaho – Moscow, College of Law Don Burnett served as interim president of the University of Idaho from June 2013 to March 2014. He had served as dean of the College of Law since 2002, and he returned to the law faculty upon completion of his presidential appointment. An Idaho native, Don was born in Pocatello to parents who came from mining families in Wallace and who attended the University of Idaho during the Great Depression. As first-generation college graduates, they felt the University of Idaho had been their gateway to the world. When Don later became interim president, he described his service as the “repayment of a family debt.” Don received his baccalaureate degree in economics from Harvard, his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago, and an LL.M. degree from the University of Virginia. His wife, Karen Trujillo who also is a Pocatello native, earned an M.F.A. degree from the University of Idaho. Don graduated from the Command and General Staff College of the United States Army and served as a reserve officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. His civilian career also included service as dean of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals, judge of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Court, president of the Idaho State Bar, and private practitioner of law in Pocatello. As interim president, Don worked to broaden participation by staff and faculty in university decision-making, to protect student health and safety, to advance the University’s $225 million capital campaign, and to build pride in the University of Idaho’s distinctive heritage. His writings and speeches often described the University as “Idaho’s national land-grant, founding, comprehensive, constitutionally established and, therefore, flagship institution.” He emphasized collaboration with sister institutions in promoting all of higher education in Idaho.
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