Published May 09, 2025
Greetings Staff and Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences,
Pokes Pub Celebration
Congratulations on wrapping up the final week of classes! To celebrate, join us at
the Pokes Pub on Tuesday, May 13 from 4-6 p.m. for an end-of-year get-together! Come
relax, enjoy a drink, and toast the close of another academic year with fellow faculty
and staff. We look forward to seeing you there!
Board of Visitors
Last Friday, we had the pleasure of hosting our College of Arts & Sciences Board of
Visitors on campus. The visit included two great presentations - one from Emily Peterson,
a graduate student in the Department of Music, and Rob Colter, Philosophy Professor,
who spoke on the Pathways from Prison project. We also had a thoughtful discussion
about the changing landscape of higher education.
A special thank you to the Department of Anthropology for hosting us and offering
a tour of their facilities. If you haven’t been over there, I strongly encourage you
to make the trip – they have many wonderful displays.
The evening concluded with a performance of Noises Off! by the Department of Theatre
and Dance. The production was outstanding and earned several Meritorious Achievement
Awards in Acting, Ensemble, Lighting Design, Properties Design, Stage Management,
and Direction. Congratulations to all involved!
Awards
This time of year is always a highlight as we celebrate the accomplishments of students,
staff, and faculty. I’ve attended several events this week recognizing faculty and
student excellence, which is always a highlight of spring!
We had six A&S students who were recognized as finalists for the Tobin Memorial and
Rosemarie Martha Spitaleri Awards, which honor UW’s top graduating seniors. Congratulations
to the following students:
Gregory Barr
Sera Glass
Jessica Petri
JW Rzeszut
Cole Schliebe
Wolfgang Wuerker
During this process, students mentioned classes that had been influential in their experiences at UW – A&S faculty were mentioned quite often.
Dan Auerbach, Global Sociology
Tyler Fall, Eastern Thought in American Culture
Ken Hanson, Sociology of Religion
Cynthia Hartung, Abnormal Psychology
Bradley Rettler, Money
Amanda Sikirica, Intro to Sociology
Several of our faculty were recognized during the Honors College Awards Ceremony including
Brad Rettler for Excellence in Teaching Advanced Honors Classes and Alison Looby for
Excellence in Capstone Mentorship.
Yesterday, we hosted our annual Outstanding Graduating Seniors Luncheon. We recognized:
Sophia Destefano
Carissa Fostervold
Aurora Gearhart
Reuben Haas
Ashley Laughlin
Amelia Marlatt
Hanna Needles
Jessica Petri
Jolie Strahan
Crystal Torres
Daniel Wozney
Wolfgang Wuerker
Jessica Yang
Additionally, Shane Epping received the Foundation Stewardship Award for 2025—congrats,
Shane!
Board of Trustees
Next week, the UW Board of Trustees will be in town, and each unit will present its
budget for consideration. As I’ve worked on our college’s presentation, I’ve been
reminded once again of the outstanding work happening in A&S and the thoughtful use
of our resources across departments. Thank you.
Welcome, Rachel!
Finally, please join me in welcoming a new member to our business team, Rachel Vansickle,
who began on April 28th as the business manager overseeing the shared staff center
serving the School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice, and the departments of Philosophy
and Religious Studies, Communication and Journalism, and Anthropology.
Rachel has been part of the UW community since 2017 and most recently served as a
laboratory technician III in the histopathology section of the Wyoming State Veterinary
Laboratory. Welcome, Rachel!
Sincerely,
Adrienne Freng
