Cooperative Extension Service Communications and Technology Department 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-6342 • fax (307) 766-3998 • www.uwyo.edu

 

For Immediate Release

 

 

Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor

Phone: (307) 766-6342

E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu

Archived News Site www.uwyo.edu/agadmin/news/news.htm

 

Date: Sept. 22, 2006

UW College of Agriculture’s Outstanding Alumnus touts education

 

            Blair Wolfley’s motto is “Education – anytime, anywhere, anyway.”

            That’s evident when visiting with University of Wyoming alumni and hearing from colleagues about the College of Agriculture Outstanding Alumnus for 2006.

            Wolfley rose in the ranks at Washington State University (WSU), where he started as a research associate in 1976 and now manages WSU Extension’s southwest district, which covers 11 counties.

            The Star Valley, Wyoming, native credits much of his success to his education at UW, where he graduated in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and in 1975 with a master’s in agricultural economics. He was on a full-ride wrestling scholarship. Working as a custodian in the athletics department and later as a research assistant covered other college expenses.

            “The experience I got with the wrestling, the work, my education, and the interaction with students, professors, and staff was as good as I could have found anywhere. UW is a great place for people to get started,” said the Vancouver, Washington, resident.

            Wolfley will be honored today and Saturday during Ag Appreciation Weekend at the college along with fellow outstanding alumnus Jerry Rankin, chief operating officer and vice chairman of the board of The Jackson State Bank and Trust. Legacy Award recipients are Brad Mead, Matt Mead and Muffy Mead-Ferro, children of the late Mary Mead and Peter Mead and grandchildren of former governor and U.S. Sen. Cliff Hansen and his wife, Martha. The outstanding research partner of the year is Bayer CropScience for its support of research at the college.

            Wolfley said he developed a strong work ethic growing up on the family ranch in Star Valley, and that continued at UW as he learned how to balance academic studies with wrestling and job duties.

            “Going to school was much easier once I was through with wrestling, but there was also an emptiness. We had a great group of guys on that team.”

            He also talked about how a number of faculty members in the College of Agriculture provided guidance that stuck with him throughout his career.

            Wolfley now shares that knowledge with approximately 100 people he oversees in his extension district. He’s also the manager of WSU’s Vancouver Research and Extension Unit.

            “The most important aspect of my job is to make resources available so the faculty members, extension coordinators, and support staff can do great programming,” Wolfley said. “My job puts me in a position to promote faculty and staff members who do great work.”

            Arlen Davison of Puyallup, Washington, professor emeritus for WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, nominated Wolfley for the award. Davison earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the UW College of Agriculture in the mid-1950s.

            “From leadership development efforts with 4-H to teaching human development classes for credit at WSU Vancouver, Blair has helped people grow in their abilities to see themselves as capable of solving problems and giving service and leadership where and when opportunity calls,” Davison wrote.

            “He is truly an outstanding member of the WSU faculty,” Davison wrote.

            Through WSU Extension, Wolfley provides the statewide leadership for the federal Extension Indian Reservation Program (EIRP).

            “He fosters diversity and the spirit of inclusion,” stated Linda Kirk Fox, dean and director of WSU Extension in Pullman.

            Wolfley received a 30-year certificate from WSU earlier this year. He was a research associate for WSU’s Water Research Center in Pullman from 1976 to 1978 before accepting a position as extension project associate in 1978 in Puyallup. He has received five promotions since.

             “I am thankful I was able to spend a career working in a service profession and to continually learn and help people solve problems. I had a lot of satisfaction watching 4-H kids grow and learn to be responsible citizens,” Wolfley said.

            In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking and regrets there is insufficient time for an “adequate dose of fly-fishing.”

            Wolfley’s wife, Kathy, a Laramie native, is a literary specialist for Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver.

            The couple has five children and 12 grandchildren.

           

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