Dean Kevin Washburn Confirmed to Lead Indian Affairs

The U.S. Sen­ate has con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Dean Kevin Wash­burn to serve as assis­tant sec­re­tary for Indian Affairs at the Depart­ment of Inte­rior, the high­est posi­tion in the fed­eral gov­ern­ment that focuses pri­mar­ily on Indian Affairs.

Washburn’s con­fir­ma­tion came quickly: A week after the Sen­ate Indian Affairs Com­mit­tee approved his nom­i­na­tion the full Sen­ate unan­i­mously con­firmed that vote on Sept. 22, only hours before adjourn­ing for the elec­tion sea­son. He will assume his new post in early October.

“Serv­ing as dean of the UNM School of Law has been the great­est honor of my pro­fes­sional career,” Wash­burn wrote in an email to the law school com­mu­nity. “It has been a joy to serve the won­der­ful fac­ulty and hard-working staff of this school, our incred­i­ble stu­dents and our impres­sive and loyal alumni, as well as the state’s gifted judiciary.”

Wash­burn said he looks for­ward to help­ing the nation’s tribes con­tinue to pur­sue self-governance. He also antic­i­pates work­ing with tribes as their gam­ing com­pacts come up for renewal in com­ing years. Indian gam­ing has been one of his aca­d­e­mic pursuits.

As assis­tant sec­re­tary for Indian Affairs, Wash­burn will be the nation’s high­est offi­cial in charge of Native Amer­i­can issues. He will over­see the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education.

Wash­burn joined the UNM School of Law as dean in 2009. He intends to return to the fac­ulty as a pro­fes­sor when he has com­pleted his term of office.

Media Con­tact: Ben­son Hen­drix (505) 277‑1816; email: bhendrix@unm.edu