UWs Matthew Painter Receives National Award

University of Wyoming Associate Professor Matthew Painter is the recipient of the 2019 Laura Taddeucci Downs National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) National Advisor of the Year award.

Painter has served as the adviser of the UW chapter of NSCS since 2011.

“The opportunity to serve as adviser to our NSCS chapter has been an honor and a privilege over the past eight years,” Painter says. “It is so important to me that I dedicate the most prominent place on my bookshelf to the awards the UW chapter has won during my time as adviser.”

He was selected for the award from a pool of more than 300 higher education professionals nationwide, including the 2019 Regional Advisor of the Year candidates.

“Your unwavering support and dedication to the NSCS chapter at the University of Wyoming for the past eight years put you ahead of leading finalists,” NSCS Founder Stephen Loflin wrote in his award letter to Painter. “You are an outstanding example of leadership and inspiration.”

Laura Taddeucci Downs, the award’s namesake, was the first NSCS adviser at the inaugural chapter founded in 1994 on the campus of George Washington University.

NSCS is an honors organization that recognizes and elevates high-achieving students. NSCS members are committed to scholarship, leadership and service. The organization provides career and graduate school connections; leadership and service opportunities; and gives out more than $1 million annually in scholarships, awards and chapter funds.

“This organization and the awesome students it attracts make the ‘service’ component of my job immensely satisfying, rewarding and meaningful,” Painter says.

Painter’s commitment to the honors organization dates back to his college days, when he helped found the Kansas State University chapter.

Painter joined UW in 2010. He teaches sociology courses  in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology and serves as the director of undergraduate studies in the Sociology Program.