Bray to Succeed Flanigan as UWs First

Meg Flanigan, the University of Wyoming’s first-year seminar (FYS) coordinator since the start of the new University Studies Program in 2015, will return full-time to her home Department of Zoology and Physiology this fall.

She will be succeeded by David Bray, seminar coordinator for the Learning Resource Networks (LeaRN) program and an academic professional lecturer in UW’s Department of English.

During her time as FYS coordinator, Flanigan helped spearhead UW’s quality improvement project for the Higher Learning Commission, a project focused on the initial startup, implementation and assessment of first-year seminar courses. Besides her accreditation work, she developed a fall forum and yearlong workshops for faculty of first-year seminars; worked to refine and assess policies, approaches and communication about the courses for faculty and students; and effectively promoted a strong and coherent vision for first-year seminars to parents, students and faculty.

“The massive project of implementation, as well as the ongoing assessment and improvement of the first-year seminar, was successful due to her hard work and careful attention to professional development for our faculty, and to quality coursework for our students,” Associate Vice Provost Anne Alexander says.

Bray will become UW’s first-year seminar coordinator starting in June. Over the past six years, he has developed curriculum and professional development for first-year seminar courses in the Bridge Program (formerly the Synergy Program), comprising 20-25 courses per year from a broad range of subjects. His role in LeaRN has focused on mentoring instructors, creating faculty learning communities and facilitating in-depth approaches to teaching research processes for incoming students.

More information is coming soon about a first-year seminar August colloquium and mini-grant opportunities. Direct any questions to Bray at dbray1@uwyo.edu.