Endowment Enhances Wyoming Higher Education
The 2006 Wyoming Legislature established the Excellence in Higher Education Endowment, which included a $70 million endowment for the creation of senior faculty positions for highly distinguished scholars and educators at the University of Wyoming. The legislation creating the Excellence in Higher Education endowment states that the endowed positions must expand university instruction and research in disciplines related to economic and social challenges facing Wyoming.
The allocated positions conform to
the legislative mandate. Four positions in Education, as prescribed by
the legislation, have been created in areas
critical to the future of K-12 education: literacy education (2
positions), science education, and mathematics education. The strategy
for allocation of the other positions was to coordinate a set of
positions in the life sciences, an institutional area of distinction
identified in the University Plan, and to build greater depth in other
areas of distinction, including the arts and humanities and professions
critical to the state such as business, law, and health professions. In
addition, positions were selected for allocation based on their
potential to address economic and social challenges in the state, such
as community economic development, livestock and wildlife disease,
managing natural resource conflicts, and preparing for a global economy.
Endowment for Excellence position allocations are designed to
complement a group of faculty positions focused on energy resources that
are funded by the School of Energy Resources.
The University of Wyoming is conducting national and international searches to fill positions in the following areas:
Each year the university reports to the Wyoming Legislature on the accomplishments of the individuals holding the endowed positions.
