From the UWAA Executive Director

Greetings, alumni and friends. Welcome to a new year! The University of Wyoming Alumni Association (UWAA) and our board members and staff send best wishes to you and your family for 2021 and hope you are well and safe. Your brown and gold alma mater has just wrapped up probably the most unique and unfamiliar academic semester ever, but I could not be prouder of the university’s determination and efforts to maintain an exceptional level of education and experience for students. Thanks to the steady leadership of President Ed Seidel and the diligence and commitment from faculty, staff and students to keep a healthy and safe campus, the university was able to complete the fall 2020 semester with the majority of classes being held in person.

In looking back at 2020, a familiar activity that stood out was welcoming over 700 December 2020 grads to the UW alumni family of 130,000+. As students, they received a top-notch education, and we look forward to witnessing the impact that they, as graduates, will have in their respective communities. We continued our tradition for our December graduates by providing a complimentary 2021 Alumni Association membership along with the Steamboat lapel pin, gestures that are the foundation of building a lasting bond with new graduates.

As we launch our engagement work for the spring, we reflect on one of President Seidel’s key goals, which is to build the “Best of Breed” 21st century land-grant university true to its Wyoming roots that is inclusive, accessible, affordable and success-oriented for our students. We are pleased the UWAA offers programming that aligns with this goal and are proud to be a significant part in accomplishing this. A few of these premier programs include our scholarship offerings, the admitted student alumni writing initiative, and our career services and professional resources carried out under the banner, “When Cowboys Call, We Answer” (WCCWA). 

With President Seidel’s charge and the generous support from many donors to the Heritage Circle, which fuels our alumni engagement programming, the WCCWA has accelerated our alumni career support and expanded the resources available to our 2020 graduates as well as alumni impacted by the current economic climate. Our WCCWA call to action for alumni and friends is to share your industry-specific employment opportunities or professional resources. The UWAA, through our strong network of UW alumni and friends, can direct these shared career opportunities and resources to our newly minted graduates and alumni. For additional details, visit the association’s career webpage, uwyo.edu/alumni/career.

A key to achieving President Seidel’s vision and priorities will be growing our partners across the state and throughout the country. The UWAA’s role is to draw upon the talents and passion of our alumni and inspire them to participate in these initiatives to increase student enrollment, to provide scholarships and to be advocates for UW graduates seeking rewarding career opportunities. All of the opportunities to join this work can be found on our website, uwyo.edu/alumni.

I appreciate your commitment to the university and the UW community, as well as your support and dedication to our students, alumni and friends. Stay connected with us in 2021 as we continue to lead, inspire and engage our alumni and friends and be the relationship engagement engine and valued partner with UW.

 

My best in Brown and Gold,

Keener Fry, Executive Director