UW College of Ag Recognizes Outstanding Alumni and Supporters

The University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources recently honored notable alumni and supporters at the annual dean’s banquet in Laramie.

The event, which took place Oct. 5, marked the beginning of Agriculture Appreciation Weekend, a yearly event celebrating UW’s connection to the agricultural community.

Honorees were Roger Stuber and Karen Williams, Outstanding Alumni Award recipients; Laura Bucholz, Legacy Award recipient; and Mountain Meadow Wool, Corporate Partner Award recipient.

Outstanding Alumni Awards

Stuber was the first member of his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1962. He originally set out to become a lawyer, but he quickly realized he’d rather put his education to use on the family ranch.

With Stuber at the helm, the Stuber Hereford Ranch (SHR) has raised and owned bulls at the top of almost every expected progeny difference category at the American Hereford Association. In 2014, Stuber was inducted into the association’s Hall of Fame.

In addition to winning the National Western Stock Show twice, SHR cattle have achieved international acclaim. They have been shipped to buyers as far away as Argentina and Kazakhstan.

Over the years, Stuber has influenced state, national and international legislation through leadership in industry organizations, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He considers UW a vital contributor to his success, saying, “If I’ve had any success in these national boards, it’s because I’ve taken classes in commerce.”

Posthumous recipient Williams was a champion of educational excellence in Wyoming and beyond. Her life’s work focused on the education of young children and the education of those who teach young children.

Williams received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in 1993, specializing in early childhood education. Her lengthy career in the UW Department of Family and Consumer Sciences included a seven-year stint as department head.

One of her most cherished achievements was the creation of UW’s Early Care and Education Center.

“Karen was the lead advocate and designer of the new building,” says Margaret Cooney, a longtime colleague and friend.

Williams also was an early advocate for distance learning, leveraging technology to serve place-bound students and adult learners. She launched UW’s distance professional child development bachelor’s degree program and later established the Bachelor of Applied Science in organizational leadership program.

Williams rounded out her career at UW as a university assessment specialist in the Office of Academic Affairs, retiring in 2015. Her legacy lives on in the educational opportunities she created for past, present and future students.

Legacy Award

Bucholz is president of the Gretchen Swanson Family Foundation. The foundation recently made a generous gift to UW’s hydrology program in honor of her late husband, Kurt.

A rancher, veterinarian and legislator, Kurt paved the way for a new approach to irrigation administration in southern Wyoming’s Brush Creek watershed. Laura has continued his quest for ethical water rights management through her engagement with the Brush Creek project, which brings together area ranchers and UW scientists to manage local water priorities.

The Swanson Foundation’s gift created the Dr. Kurt S. Bucholz Irrigation Science Excellence Fund, which supports water management research in the UW Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. The gift also established the Watershed Hydrology Graduate Assistantship, which provides funding to a graduate student serving as irrigation administrator in the Brush Creek system.

“This gift will leave an impression not just on the university, but also on the state of Wyoming as a whole,” says UW President Ed Seidel.

Corporate Partner Award

In the six years that UW has partnered with Mountain Meadow Wool, a regional wool mill in Buffalo, the mill has hosted more than 200 undergraduate students and 130 sheep industry stakeholders.

Mountain Meadow Wool also acts as a production partner in Wyoming Wool Initiative’s annual blanket project, now in its third year. Through the blanket project, Ben Hostetler, operations manager, and his team have contributed to traceability research on the use of blockchain technology in the sheep industry.

“It’s not hyperbole when we say that Mountain Meadow Wool is an unofficial satellite campus and laboratory in our educational and outreach efforts,” says Lindsay Conley-Stewart, Wyoming Wool Initiative project coordinator.

Mountain Meadow Wool is working with UW on several new projects, including sock production and a feasibility study on first-stage wool processing.