Office of Governmental Affairs & Community Engagement

Mike Smith, Vice President Governmental Affairs and Community Engagement

Mike Smith, who grew up in Laramie when his father worked for UW, received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from UW in 1991. While at UW, he spent a semester working as an intern for U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas in Washington, D.C. He then became a legislative assistant for the senator on education and environmental issues -- a position Smith held for five years -- before returning to UW for law school. He received his law degree in 1999. 

From 2000-07 and from 2019 to summer of 2022, Smith was a practicing attorney in several law firms, including two stints at the firm of Holland & Hart in Cheyenne. His experience includes representing clients before the Wyoming Legislature. From 2007-2019, he was the director of regulatory policy and then the manager of regulatory affairs for the High Plains Division of QEP Resources Inc., an independent oil and gas company that had a significant presence in Wyoming at the time. 

A resident of Cheyenne since 1999, Smith chairs the Public Relations Committee for Cheyenne Frontier Days, leading 300 volunteers responsible for hosting media, special guests, sponsors and the public; coordinating internal and external messaging; and acting as a spokesperson for the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration. 

In his role at UW -- in addition to serving as the university’s chief liaison to local, state and federal governments through the Office of Governmental Relations -- Smith oversees Institutional Marketing and Communications, and the Office of Engagement and Outreach. The unit, as a whole, is called the Division of Governmental Affairs and Community Engagement.