Dr Donald Leon Mills (ca. 1928–) was born in Lampa, Idaho and in 1950 graduated Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho. He went on to Stanford where in 1952 he graduated Master of Arts, and in 1959 received his doctorate. His thesis was entitled Status, Values, and Certainty of Occupational Choice. In 1961 he joined the faculty in the University of Calgary's sociology department and in 1964 became the department head. In 1966 he co-wrote the book Professionalization with Dr Howard M. Vollmer.