Public Event for New UW President June 20 in Cheyenne

Laramie County residents will have an opportunity to meet new University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols during a public reception Monday, June 20, in Cheyenne.

The event is scheduled from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Kiwanis Community House, 4603 Lions Park Drive. Light refreshments and beverages will be served at the reception, hosted by the UW Alumni Association.

The public event is part of a more than two-day trip to Cheyenne for the UW president that will include a stop at Laramie County Community College and meetings with state government officials, legislators and media representatives. Nichols is scheduled to speak to the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

During her first months in office, Nichols is spending a day or two of each week traveling around the state to meet with citizens, community college and public school leaders, legislators, alumni, media and others.

“I’m having a wonderful time getting around the state to meet with people and hear their thoughts and expectations for Wyoming’s university,” says Nichols, who began her duties as president May 16. “This is a crucial time for the state and UW, and input from the public is important to make sure the university fulfills its land-grant mission of education, research and service to the entire state.”

Nichols comes to UW from South Dakota State University, where she has served as provost and executive vice president since 2009. Before that, she was dean of the SDSU College of Education and Human Sciences from 1994 to 2008. She began her career in higher education as a member of the faculty of the University of Idaho from 1988 to 1994.

Nichols was born and raised in South Dakota. A first-generation college graduate, she received a bachelor’s degree in education from South Dakota State in 1978. She then earned a master’s degree in vocational and adult education from Colorado State University in 1984 and a Ph.D. in family and consumer sciences education from Ohio State University in 1988.