Tarissa Spoonhunter
Tarissa Spoonhunter, an assistant professor in the University of Wyoming Haub School
of Environment and Natural Resources and director of the High Plains American Indian
Research Institute, has been awarded the inaugural Liliane and Christian Haub Professorship.
The professorship -- established through the generosity of philanthropists Liliane
and Christian Haub -- is designed to support early-career faculty members in the Haub
School by advancing their research, teaching and outreach efforts while assisting
in their progress toward tenure and promotion. The endowed position will rotate every
three years to recognize a high-performing faculty member, ensuring ongoing support
for extraordinary educators and researchers.
“The Haub Professorship was created to uplift exceptional educators whose work strengthens
both the university and the communities it serves,” Liliane Haub says. “Dr. Spoonhunter’s
leadership and research embody this vision -- connecting people, place and purpose
in ways that advance sustainability and respect for our shared environment.”
Spoonhunter, an enrolled Northern Arapaho and descendant of the Blackfeet, Oglala
and Dakota tribes, brings a deep commitment to both scholarship and community engagement.
Her research focuses on asserting treaty rights on traditional ceded lands, including
Glacier National Park and Badger-Two Medicine, while her teaching emphasizes contemporary
issues facing tribal nations in resource management. Spoonhunter has taught at institutions
across the U.S., empowering Native students to leverage Western educational tools
in their communities and academic pursuits.
“I am very humbled and honored to receive the inaugural Liliane and Christian Haub
Professorship,” Spoonhunter says. “The Haub School has supported me to work with tribes
through collaboration on natural resources in water, the Wind River Tribal Buffalo
Initiative, Tribal Fish and Game, and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students
to connect them in their respective programs to tribal endeavors not only in natural
resources, but also ecotourism and outreach education.”
The Haub Professorship reflects the Haubs’ long-standing commitment to environmental
education and sustainable solutions. Liliane Haub has served on the Haub School Advisory
Board for over 15 years, providing counsel, leadership and philanthropy, while Christian
Haub, CEO of Germany’s Tengelmann Group, has championed sustainable business practices
for decades.
“We are so grateful to Liliane and Christian for their continued investment in our
future -- quite literally in perpetuity -- with this remarkably impactful gift,” says
John Koprowski, dean of the Haub School. “Our faculty are key to the sustained impact
that the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources has on our wild and working
lands in Wyoming, the West and the world. Outstanding faculty, such as Dr. Spoonhunter,
mentor our talented students, provide engaged service to Wyomingites and produce research
and scholarship that permit our state to thrive. The Liliane and Christian Haub Professorship
enables us to elevate the pace of success of our early-career faculty so that their
trajectory of lifetime impact through our university is maximized.”
The Liliane and Christian Haub Professorship will have a lasting impact on the Haub
School, UW and the state. By supporting distinguished faculty, such as Spoonhunter,
the professorship strengthens UW’s ability to educate the next generation of environmental
leaders, to advance innovative research and to foster partnerships that address complex
natural resource challenges. This investment in faculty excellence ensures that Wyoming
continues to benefit from informed sustainable decision-making and a thriving community
of scholars dedicated to the stewardship of its lands and resources.
Faculty excellence, along with student success, represents a key pillar of UW’s fundraising priorities. Investments such as the Liliane and Christian Haub Professorship exemplify how philanthropic support advances these core areas, ensuring that UW continues to attract, retain and empower outstanding educators and scholars who shape the future of Wyoming and beyond.
