Malcolm R. Burns was born January 15, 1947. He earned degrees in Economics from Haverford College (B.A. 1968), University of Minnesota (Ph.D 1975), as well as a law degree from the University of Kansas (J.D. 1980) and was admitted to the Kansas Bar on October 3, 1981.

Among Professor Burns' numerous awards for teaching and research excellence are: Research Fellowship in Economics at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. (1973-1974), Byron T. Shutz Award for Distinguished Teaching on Economic Systems (KU 1977), National Fellowship in Economics at The Hoover Institution in Stanford, CA (1983-1984), the Newcomen Prize in Business History (1983), and an Amoco Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching (KU 1987).

After teaching Economics at the University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College, Professor Burns began teaching at the University of Kansas in 1974. He was made Associate Professor of Economics in 1983 and served on numerous committees throughout his tenure at KU He held professional memberships with the American Economic Association and National Association of Forensic Economics. Burns also served as an expert witness to the Attorney General of the state of Kansas regarding the licensing hearings for the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant (1975-1976). He retired from the University of Kansas in January 1996.

An Economist with a great sense of humor, Professor Burns claimed to have made a hobby of being cheap. Generally, Professor Burns saved the last class each sememster to teach the topic of "Cheap Living". Burns was one of five finalists for the Hope Teaching Award, which is based on a vote of the senior class at K.U. in 1977.

Professor Burns' wrote numerous publications throughout his career. Some of these articles include: Predatory Pricing and the Acquisition Cost of Competitors; Job Search and College Enrollment Durations for Calculating Losses from Personal Injuries; The Analysis of Secondary-Line Injury and Damages under Section 2 (a) of the Robinson-Patman Act; An Econometric Forecasting Model of Revenues from Urban Parking Facilities.