David and Jade Walsh, pictured here in Kenya, share a love of travel that inspired their support of UW. Courtesy photo
David and Jade Walsh believe in the importance of international experiences, especially for university students.
“It’s a global world,” David says. “A college student today is not nearly as well prepared as he or she could be if they have international experience. Learning how the rest of the world operates and being able to compare and contrast to everything about the United States is extremely valuable.”
Adds Jade, “We have a global economy, and any decisions that you make at some point may have an international impact. It’s really our interest in giving an opportunity to students to see their issues through the broader spectrum of the world.”
That’s exactly what the Walshes have done. They established the David and Jade Walsh Graduate Fellowship in Global Studies, which supports an outstanding graduate student with an international project related to energy or international security. Preference is given to projects with an environmental and natural resources development focus.
“It takes a lot of pressure off a student financially, so it gives the student an opportunity that might otherwise be closed to him or her,” Jade says. “It is a relief (for the student) to know that the difficult issue of funding of research is taken off the table, and all you really have to do now is focus on your research.”
The most recent recipient is Natalia Sharova, who is working on her master’s degree in international studies. Her thesis focuses on the role of interest groups in energy and climate policymaking in Australia, as well as what prevents democratic governments from enacting effective climate policies. For her fieldwork, Sharova traveled to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, where she interviewed government officials, think tanks, environmental NGOs and lobbyists.
“The Walshes’ financial support has had a knock-on effect, as both recipients took their projects on the road in our ‘What in the World?’ outreach series to multiple Wyoming communities,” says UW Director of the Center for Global Studies Jean Garrison, a professor in global and area studies and political science. “Clearly, the Walshes’ gift helps us support students who embody our center’s motto—bringing the world to Wyoming and Wyoming to the world.”
After attending the U.S. Naval Academy, David spent five years in submarine service in the Navy. He then earned a degree at Harvard Business School before going on to a 25-year international career with Putnam Investments in Boston.
Growing up in a military family, Jade moved around a lot. She earned a degree in Russian at Connecticut College. She taught school in Massachusetts and served on the school board. She is now president of the Russian Club of Jackson Hole.
When they retired, they decided to move to Wyoming.
“Just because of the lifestyle here, we enjoy ourselves much more and felt it was a more appropriate place to be,” David says. “The scholarship is really motivated by the desire to do something for the state of Wyoming that’s been so good to us for the last 18 years.”
“It’s the state of Wyoming that has given us a tremendous lifestyle and opportunity,” Jade says. “To show gratitude, we decided the university—after looking into it and seeing that it was a great school—was a really a wonderful way to thank the state and the people of the state for providing this wonderful lifestyle.”
Jade and David would like to encourage others who are considering supporting Wyoming’s university: “We are involved with the university as a way to thank Wyoming. It’s an attitude we’d like to reinforce with other people who might be inclined to do something like that as well.”
