Burnett plans active tenure at UI

Don Burnett has no intention of sitting still during his time as the University of Idaho's interim president.

The former College of Law dean began his new position June 1 following the departure of former President Duane Nellis, who was hired earlier this year to take the helm at Texas Tech University.

Burnett, originally from Pocatello, said Wednesday he does not know how long his term as interim president will last, but he has a list of goals he plans to work toward during that time.

"I'm on-task for as much time as they need," Burnett said.

The search for a permanent president is ongoing, with applications and nominations for potential candidates due this month. Burnett said the search committee anticipates having candidates to interview by October, with an offer for the job after that. The determination on how long Burnett will serve as the interim president, he said, will depend on when the person hired is able to begin the position.

In the meantime, Burnett said, he will work to improve enrollment, which appears to be up compared to this point last year. UI officials won't have an exact number until a count can be completed in the first week of September.

Burnett said the school's goal of raising enrollment from about 11,500 to 16,000 students by 2020 - a charge initially set by Nellis - was beginning to be reconsidered before the former president departed. Increasing enrollment is a bit of a teeter-totter act, he said, because the cost for students goes up when public support for institutions of higher education lags.

The lag in public support is linked to legislative support, including financial backing of the university. That's why Burnett said he believes advocacy for higher education needs to begin on the public level. He said the Idaho Legislature won't take any actions without the support of residents.

That support requires that UI stand its ground as a statewide education leader, while also collaborating elsewhere with other institutions in the state. Burnett said UI should support Boise State University on state-level issues when needed, because such collaboration will lead to more support for UI as well.

One way Burnett would like to explore building that kind of partnership, he said, is through a statewide, all-institution presidents tour. Such a tour has not occurred in about 20 years, Burnett said. He said it's an idea he wants to present to others around the state.

Despite no longer being the dean of the College of Law, Burnett said he is also planning to continue work implementing the second-year law curriculum in Boise. By offering a secondary location for the law school, Burnett said UI is creating a complementary educational setting for the various areas of emphasis. He said Moscow and Boise both offer good locations for students based on their specific program and individual financial situations.

As the beginning of the academic year approaches, Burnett will be traveling to Pocatello next week for his second State Board of Education meeting as interim president. Even though he earned his degrees elsewhere, Burnett said he has strong family ties to UI and feels privileged to provide a little extra service to the school in his current role.

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Rudd may be contacted at erudd@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-8465.