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Phone: (307) 766-2929
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Governor Proposes Funding for UW Endowed Professorships, Energy Research

November 20, 2019

The University of Wyoming would receive one-time matching dollars for endowed professorships, energy research and the College of Law’s experiential learning clinics under Gov. Mark Gordon’s budget proposal for the upcoming biennium.

The governor’s proposal, announced Monday, essentially maintains the current level of funding for just about all university operations.

“At this time of uncertainty for Wyoming’s future revenues, we appreciate the governor’s commitment to the state’s university, particularly the funding to help us recruit and retain outstanding faculty,” Acting President Neil Theobald says. “His recommendations recognize that the futures of the state and its university are intertwined, and these proposals are focused on priorities that will advance the state’s economy and help its key industries.”

The proposed one-time appropriations, to be matched by private contributions, research grants and private contracts, are:

-- $5 million to create permanent endowments that support faculty members in agriculture, engineering and the Science Initiative. When fully matched, this endowment would generate about $400,000 annually to help attract and retain outstanding faculty members.

The university had sought $10 million in one-time matching dollars for this purpose; the governor recommended half of that.

-- $5 million for UW’s Center of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media in the High Bay Research Facility, one of the world’s most advanced oil and gas research facilities. The research is advancing recovery of oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs.

-- $2.5 million for an endowment to support the College of Law’s clinics and experiential learning program. During the 2018-19 academic year, more than 120 students participated in those legal clinics, providing over 18,000 hours of free legal service for indigent Wyoming citizens. Each year, students working in clinics under faculty supervision represent indigent Wyoming citizens in over 400 cases across the state’s 23 counties.

Other one-time appropriations proposed by the governor are:

-- $8.8 million to fund research into alternative uses for Wyoming coal. Those research projects include demonstration of a coal-derived asphalt paving material; converting carbon dioxide into petrochemical products; manufacturing of construction materials from coal; production of lightweight composite materials using carbon fiber; production of coating materials; and field trials of a soil amendment for the agriculture industry.

-- $1.3 million for the School of Energy Resources (SER). It would, among other things, support SER’s new Energy Policy Analysis Program; help reinvigorate the school’s centers of excellence to align with the needs of the state; and help rebuild SER’s outreach program.

-- $1 million to continue raising the stature of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The funding would be used for new academic programs in entrepreneurship, construction management and computer engineering technology. While tuition and fees eventually would help sustain these programs, startup funds are needed for the first two or three years until enrollment is robust and tuition and fee revenue can help cover delivery costs.

The governor’s budget proposal now goes to the Legislature for consideration during its 2020 budget session.

Contact Us

Institutional Communications
Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-2929
Email: cbaldwin@uwyo.edu


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