A Message from the Provost: Week of 9.01.25

September 4 | 2025
 

Dear Colleagues, 

After the beautiful weather this week and a long holiday weekend, I hope you’re winding down this second week of the semester with plans to head to the Farmer’s Market, outdoors to enjoy the last few days of summer, or to the Pokes game on Saturday. This week, I want to highlight two important initiatives that showcase both the creativity of our faculty and the thoughtful stewardship of our academic programs.

In honor of Innovation Week, we are excited to introduce the President’s Innovation Fellows recognition. This new honor aims to acknowledge faculty members whose innovative and entrepreneurial achievements benefit students, the university, and Wyoming. A total of $30,000 has been allocated to support these Fellows' work, which can be used for travel, equipment, graduate assistants, or subscriptions.

Nominations are open to all faculty (tenure-track, tenured, or fixed-term), as well as cross-disciplinary teams. Deans may submit up to two nominations, and self- or peer-nominations are encouraged with Dean endorsement. The deadline for submissions is October 17, 2025, and recipients will be honored at a campus event later this fall. We look forward to celebrating the exceptional creativity across UW. The Deans will organize and announce the initial nomination process to colleges.  

 

As part of our yearly process for reviewing low-producing programs, Deans have received their program lists and are asked to submit responses by November 1, 2025. This review provides an opportunity to reflect on how programs serve students and align with our land-grant mission, Wyoming’s workforce needs, and interdisciplinary learning across campus. Our goal is to ensure that each program contributes meaningfully to the strength and coherence of UW’s academic portfolio. I appreciate the thoughtful conversations with department heads and faculty as you prepare these reports.
Thank you for your ongoing dedication to student success, program quality, and innovation. Watch out for each other and take good care of yourselves. Together, we are building a future for UW that is both creative and sustainable. 

 

With gratitude,

 

Anne