New UW Fund Honors Pete and Lynne Simpson, Supports Student Internships

A newly created fund at the University of Wyoming honors Pete and Lynne Simpson, longtime advocates of the arts and humanities and devoted UW supporters, by supporting meaningful and transformative experiences in the humanities for UW students.

 

The Pete and Lynne Simpson Student Enrichment Fund in the Humanities will support internship opportunities in the humanities for students in the UW College of Arts and Sciences. The fund may be used to support travel costs, housing, internship stipends -- including support for students enrolled in otherwise unpaid internships -- and other expenses. Preference will be given to students who want to complete internships in Wyoming.

 

“Experiential learning needs to be at the heart of a world-class education in every discipline and can be transformative in the arts and humanities,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “This fund helps our students turn what they learn in the classroom into real-world experience, enhancing their success today and tomorrow. It’s a powerful way to support hands-on learning and honor the Simpson family’s incredible legacy.”

 

The new fund was established through the generosity of donors who made gifts in honor of the prominent Simpson family, which includes the late U.S. Sen. Al Simpson, brother of Pete, and his wife, Ann.

 

“We are honored and immensely grateful to the University of Wyoming for the initiation of this fund and for the donors who support this initiative,” say Pete and Lynne Simpson, of Cody. “At this time, humanities programs have come under pressure from government funding cuts and deprioritization in curricula at all levels of formal education. It is gratifying to know that this fund will give Wyoming students opportunities to learn and experience the importance of the humanities and the arts in the development of the community and in human development itself.”

 

Details on how students may apply for funding will be announced this fall. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and/or a committee will determine which students will receive funding support.

 

“Pete and Lynne Simpson have always championed the arts as a vital part of Wyoming,” UW Interim Provost Scott Turpen says. “This fund reflects their impact and reinforces UW’s commitment to the creative arts -- not only as a driver of economic development in our state, but also as a key to student success and an enduring priority of the university.”

 

Turpen will return to his previous role as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Friday, Aug. 1.

 

For more than 50 years, the Simpsons have been influential figures in the arts and humanities sector in Wyoming.

 

Lynne is a Governor’s Arts Award recipient, a former Wyoming Arts Council board member and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow. Additionally, she will be honored this fall as a UW Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. She has brought her passion and commitment to excellence in community theater to every Wyoming community she has lived in. She has created theater education programs, renovated historic theaters, and directed and toured acclaimed productions in Jackson, Casper, Sheridan, Laramie and Cody -- two of which were American Community Theater Festival national finalists.

 

Pete is an author, a UW distinguished professor of history, former vice president for institutional advancement at UW and a UW Alumni Association Medallion Service Award recipient. He has served on the boards of several of the state’s premier cultural institutions, including the Wyoming Humanities Council, the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and UW’s American Heritage Center.

 

Both Simpsons are UW graduates. Lynne earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities and fine arts, a master’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in education. Pete earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from UW.

 

In recent years, the Simpsons have created cutting-edge programs that use cultural engagement to build community and to foster well-rounded citizenship, including their recent series of coffee gatherings on politics and religion and their Wyoming Arts Council-supported creative aging project in Cody.

 

“We can envision a community of donors who will help encourage students to understand the importance of the arts and humanities in the life of our Wyoming cities and towns, and indeed, in preparation ‘for complete living’ as the inscription on UW’s Arts and Sciences Building urges us all to do today,” the Simpsons say.

 

“Pete and Lynne have been champions for the arts and humanities in Wyoming, and beyond, for so many years,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “Of course, they also have been great champions for the University of Wyoming. We are honored to have their names associated with this particular fund that will create wonderful learning opportunities for UW students in perpetuity. Additionally, these students will provide critically important services to the people of Wyoming.”