UWAA Alumni Awards

Jo Anne Youtz McFarland, Building a Better Wyoming Award

As president of Central Wyoming College, Jo Anne Youtz McFarland led her institution through thick and thin, and that commitment was inspired by an abiding love for the state of Wyoming. She earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater in 1969 and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 1976, both from UW.

The UWAA is recognizing McFarland with the 2019 Building a Better Wyoming Award for making a difference in the lives of people in the state and being a source of UW strength and pride. The former college president says she is honored.

“I’ve enjoyed every step of this grand adventure, and  I really feel that the state of Wyoming and CWC are my home,” she says. “I didn’t ever think of the work at the college as work, but as my passion.”

McFarland worked her way up through the ranks  of the college, arriving as one of only two female faculty members, and eventually became president in 1989. She took the reins at a time when the college faced severe budget difficulties but was eventually able to focus on outreach.

“The notion of a community college that didn’t engage with and involve the community was anathema to me,” McFarland says. “We saw ourselves as providing a cultural center for the community.”

CWC shares its county with the Wind River Indian Reservation, and McFarland says it was important to serve the tribes who live there and oversaw the establishment of the Intertribal Center.

McFarland experienced her fair share of setbacks. Both the Intertribal Center and the Health and Science Center—another construction project McFarland pushed for—were initially opposed by others in the college and the community, but she kept fighting and persevered.

“When a college president fails, they do so publicly and colossally,” she says. “And I don’t know if it’s just that true grit, hardscrabble Wyoming upbringing that lifted me up, but I always was more motivated and inspired by my failures than I ever was by my successes.”

McFarland retired from CWC in 2014.

 

Aaron Bieber, Network/Chapter Leader Award

UW graduates can be found across the globe, but many of these far-flung Cowboys still retain close ties to the university. Aaron Bieber is a perfect example of one such Cowboy.

Having completed a bachelor’s degree (2003) and a master’s degree (2005) in political science at UW, Bieber received his J.D. from the College of Law in 2008 and is  now a partner at the Houston-based oil and gas law firm Sadler/Bieber Law Group PLLC.

With family ties in Colorado and deep connections to the university, Bieber and his wife—fellow UW graduate Nichole—visit often, but are also able to stay connected through alumni groups Bieber has created or helped to form, such as the Houston alumni network.

Bieber says there is no shortage of UW graduates in Houston.

“I don’t know the exact count, but I think the figure has got to be north of 2,000,” he says.

The group hosts an annual golf tournament, fundraising for a $1,500 scholarship that helps Houston-area students attend UW. The scholarship was endowed at $25,000 in  June 2019.

The nationwide Energy Alumni Network, another group Bieber helped to form, is specifically for UW graduates working in the energy industry. The growing network is “building momentum,” Bieber says, hosting events in Denver, Houston and on campus.

“Person for person, we have some of the best out there, so we want to get people in the energy space better connected, as well connected as any other university,” he says. “We want people to know how to reach out to other UW graduates in the energy industry.”

Bieber says he’s motivated by a desire to give back to UW, connect outstanding alumni and have excuses to watch UW games with other alumni. He says he is humbled to be recognized for his active engagement in a UWAA network or chapter by the UW Alumni Association with the Network/Chapter Leader Award and looks forward to seeing his  groups grow.

 

Brittany Wells Gray, Rising Alumni Award

Helping single mothers and their children in Sweetwater County find their footing is the latest, but far from the first, expression of Brittany Wells Gray’s commitment to her community.

Gray graduated from UW with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2008 and expects to receive a master’s degree in communication this fall.

Whether it’s at a library, a radio station, a child development center or her current position as the program director for Climb Wyoming in Sweetwater County, Gray has spent her time since 2008 lending a hand—and her skills—to community organizations.

The UW Alumni Association named her for the 2019 Rising Alumni Award, which recognizes the high level of professional accomplishment achieved by alumni who graduated in the last 10 years. In turn, Gray credits her time at UW—and her Wyoming upbringing— for propelling her into her wide-ranging career. 

“My interest in helping and encouraging others was transformed into a fiery passion all because of the leadership I witnessed from my mentors, family and friends,” Gray says.

Her involvement at UW included founding the UW Sign Language Club, being the first female Pistol Pete and helping launch the Branding Iron’s website as the student newspaper’s first online editor.

After college, Gray hosted a morning radio show and coached the Laramie High School cheerleading squad. Moving to Green River, she worked for the Sweetwater County Library System and the Child Development Center, securing funding for innovative development programs. She also worked for U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s 2014 primary campaign, finding a new mentor in the process.

“Congresswoman Cheney imparted knowledge and wisdom to me that has continued to shape my career and professional life,” Gray says.

Now with Climb Wyoming in Sweetwater County, Gray continues to give back to the community, securing funding and support to help low-income single mothers discover self-sufficiency through career training and job placement.

“Supporting others as they make meaningful changes has been a pulling force in my life,” she says. “I genuinely love helping others succeed.”

 

Barney Cosner, Life Member Service Award

A graduate of both UW and Oklahoma State University—whose mascot lacks a bucking horse, but wears a similar hat—Fremont County Fair Director Barney Cosner says he takes great pride in being a “Double Cowboy.”

Fair director since 2010, Cosner has stayed involved with his original alma mater as an alumni association board member from 2008-13, even serving as board president, and as an active alumnus for even longer.

“I have tried to give back to the university and give back to the alumni association just a little portion of what I’ve gotten out of all the friendships and the contacts and the quality of people and institutions I got exposed to,” he says of his tenure on the UWAA Board of Directors.

Cosner says he especially appreciated the opportunity to raise scholarship funds that directly and positively impact the lives of prospective or attending students at UW, where he himself received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1974.

“That became the driving force to being involved,” he says. “To be able to help them do some things they have wanted to accomplish has really been a tremendous pleasure, and I’ve gotten to meet so many good people.”

In recognition of his long-standing support and loyal service to the UWAA, the association is bestowing on him the Life Member Service Award, an honor Cosner says was humbling.

“You get involved with things for a reason, and you try to make an impact. I’m almost a little taken aback, because there are tremendous numbers of good people who are involved with UWAA. I do what I enjoy and what the heart enjoys, and the opportunity to help the future comes very easy to me.”

Cosner has previously served as manager of the National Western Stock Show, Wyoming State Fair director and Nebraska State Fair director.