UW in the News

State, national and international media frequently feature the University of Wyoming and members of its community in stories. Here is a summary of some of the recent coverage:

Oil City News was among media outlets publishing UW’s release noting that the university is developing a process to deal with cuts -- which could be 20 percent -- to the block grant it receives from the state. This is in response to Gov. Mark Gordon’s call for state agencies to prepare for significant budget reductions this biennium. The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) published a similar article.

The UW Board of Trustees approved a roughly $25 million plan last week that would reopen campus to faculty and students in the fall semester, reported The Laramie Boomerang and CS-T. The plan includes social distancing, testing, mass use of face coverings and other changes to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Cowboy State Daily, SweetwaterNOW, Oil City News and Sheridan Media were among other media outlets announcing the plan.

The Boston Globe interviewed UW economist Linda Thunstrom about her widely published research on whether saving lives through social distancing is worth the economic costs. “Inside the calculus of coronavirus risk: Everyday interactions bring about agonizing decisions” was the title of The Globe piece.

In a series of related articles, UW economist Rob Godby told Cowboy State Daily that Wyoming’s coal, oil and natural gas producers are facing significant losses following the COVID-19 pandemic. Godby also commented on a follow-up Cowboy State Daily piece, titled “Wyoming Oil Production Decline ‘Catastrophic,’ Recovery Unlikely.”

WIRED also quoted Godby for an article about how COVID-19 is adding to the rapid decline of coal production in Wyoming.

UW law Professor Michael Duff spoke with Law 360 on the current case of McDonald’s workers suing the company under the “public nuisance” law. Duff said there is almost no case law available in which employees have tried to sue under a public nuisance theory because the fact-pattern that leads to such a suit hardly ever occurs.

Big Horn Radio Network published UW’s release highlighting the research from UW and Western EcoSystems Technology indicating that mule deer are less likely to use their migration corridors if the land is disturbed. Science Magazine also published UW’s release. The findings were published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

Despite multiple mountain ranges, three major highways and ranges that span hundreds of miles, Wyoming’s pronghorn have little-to-no genetic differentiation, according to a UW study. UW doctoral student Melanie LaCava led the study, Big Horn Radio Network reported.

Environmental News Network and Bioengineer published UW’s release noting the impacts of climate change on mule deer migration patterns. The study was led by a team of researchers working with lead author Ellen Aikens, a 2019 graduate of the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UW.

Christine Porter, a UW kinesiology and health associate professor, discussed with Wyoming Public Radio (WPR) that more COVID-19 deaths in Wyoming will be expected as the state reopens.

UW’s Alumni Association is hosting a virtual 5K run to commemorate the association’s first meeting 125 years ago. Oil City News and SweetwaterNOW published UW’s release.

WPR interviewed recently elected Associated Students of UW (ASUW) President Riley Talamantes and Vice President Courtney Titus. WPR said the pair might be the first females to hold the two ASUW positions.

Scott Henkel, director of the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research at UW, spoke with WPR about the millennial generation.

The Cody Enterprise published UW’s release noting the analyzation of social distancing research by Neely Mahapatra, an associate professor, and Sukyung Yoon, an assistant professor, both in the Division of Social Work.

Tennessee Watson, a WPR education reporter, was selected as a finalist by the Education Writers Association for her contribution to the audio documentary “Students on the Move: Keeping Uprooted Kids in School.”