Facts and Highlights

Generous scholarship program

The college awarded 201 scholarships totaling $411,900 in 2011/12.

Largest program in the U.S.

Our rangeland ecology and watershed management degree program, housed within the Department of Ecosystems Science and Management, is the largest enrolled program of its kind in the nation.

Wyoming Endowed Chairs

Two of nine Wyoming Excellence Chairs are located within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Herman Schatzl is a Professor of Veterinary Science. Steve Smutko, a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, shares a joint appointment with the Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources.

Research Excellence

Although the smallest college on campus, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources leads the institution in research dollars awarded per faculty member.

Teaching is our passion

11% of the college’s full-time instructional faculty members have won one or more university-wide, regional, or national teaching excellence awards. Since 1993, four faculty members have received UW’s highest faculty honor, the prestigious George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award.

Energetic research programs

• The college received $13,232,638 in external grants for fiscal year 2010-11
• Although the smallest college on campus, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources leads the institution in research dollars awarded per faculty member.
• Three of the past four years our college has ranked second only to the College of Arts and Sciences in total research awards.
• In 2011 the college had 10 new patent disclosures.
• Faculty members have identified a gene mutation responsible for a fatal bone disease in Red Angus cattle, and developed a commercially available diagnostic test to identify carriers.
• UW Department of Molecular Biology Professor Don Jarvis is using his research involving genetically engineered insect cells to develop processes for manufacturing vaccines, diagnostics, or therapeutics for use in human and veterinary medicine.

Award winning faculty members

• Herman Schatzl, a renowned scholar with research background in prion diseases holds the Wyoming Excellence Chair in Prion Biology at the University of Wyoming.
• Dan Rule, Professor of Animal Science, received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Western Section American Society of Animal Science.
• Rachel Watson, Lecturer in Molecular Biology, received a John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award -the most prestigious teaching award offered at the University of Wyoming.
• KJ Reddy, professor Ecosystem Science & Management received the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award in 2010. Named for UW's 13th president, the award recognizes teaching effectiveness, distinction in scholarly work, and distinguished service to the university and state. It is UW's highest faculty honor.
• Christine Wade was the recipient of a Teaching Award of Merit from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Association.
• Alex Latchininsky received the International Integrated Pest Management Award for Excellence for developing and delivering to landowners the Reduced Agent and Area Treatments (RAATS) rangeland grasshopper control strategy. RAATs reduces costs by reducing the rate of insecticide from levels recommended by the label, and alternating untreated and treated swaths.
• Matt Anderson received the Quality of Research Discovery Award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Anderson co-authored the book Persistence Pays: US Agricultural Productivity and the Benefits from Public R&D Spending.
• Professor Tom Thurow in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, received the Range Science Education Council’s Undergraduate Teaching Award for 2012. This is the top teaching award in the profession.

Student accomplishments

Business entrepreneurs

Christoph Geisler and Nate Storey (together with partner Paul Bennick) tied for first place in the 2011 annual UW $10K Entrepreneurship Competition sponsored by the College of Business. Both Geisler and Storey are students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The winning teams each receive $10,000 to start up their business. Geisler’s business proposal is for his company GlycoBac. The company offers custom glycol-engineered insect cells for the production of biotherapeutics used in products such as cancer-fighting antibodies.

Storey and Bennick developed Bright Agrotech, LLC that manufactures and sells vertical hydroponic towers for greenhouse vegetable productions. It allows producers to dramatically increase production as a function of floor space.

Top collegiate team

UW’s range management student team received the Trail Boss Award from the Society of Range Management as the top collegiate team. They also claimed second place awards in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam against 24 other schools and in the Rangeland Cup in competition with 11 other schools. UW students regularly win, place, or show in national rangeland competitions.

100% pass rate for dietetic and nutrition students

For the past 3 years, the pass rate for UW students on the Registered Dietitian's (RD) national examination was 100%. The national average pass rate for this same time period was 79%, 82% and 85%, respectively.