USI Appoints Chief Government Officer
Aaron Trump
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe University of Southern Indiana has appointed Aaron Trump chief government and legal affairs officer. He will assume the role December 3. He will undertake responsibilities previously held in part by Cindy Brinker, senior vice president emerita of government relations, who retired in June. This position also combines the newly established, internal role of legal affairs for USI.
Trump will serve as the university’s principal liaison to local, state and federal government officials, including members and staff of the Indiana General Assembly, the Office of the Governor, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the Office of Management and Budget as well as related associations, groups and organizations locally, throughout the State of Indiana and at the federal level. He also will provide legal counsel and guidance to the president, Board of Trustees and other members of the University community on a broad range of legal matters relevant to the institution.
Currently, Trump serves as the civil rights investigator for all complaints falling under Title IX, Title VII and other federal and state laws for the University of Colorado in Denver. He was an associate attorney for two Evansville-based law firms: Ziemer, Stayman, Weitzel and Shoulders, L.L.P. and Kahn Dees Donovan and Kahn L.L.P. In these roles, among other duties, he provided counsel to universities on student affairs and federal compliance.
Trump is licensed to practice law in Indiana and has received certifications in trial advocacy skills, advanced sexual misconduct and civil rights investigation. His legal career includes representing municipalities, manufacturers, retailers and other business clients in small claims, Superior, Circuit and Federal Courts, and advising governmental departments on the policy implications of local, state and federal codes. Trump served as a Section Chief/Staff Sergeant – Field Artillery for the United States Army National Guard.
He received a Juris Doctor degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Trump also earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University.