Arriving at Our New Home

Tearful Goodbyes and Arriving at Our New Home

June 24, 2020

Hello, UW Community:

It is hard to believe that the weeks have passed so quickly and this is my last weekly message before joining the UW family officially next week on July 1. I hope through this type of engagement you have been able to learn a bit more about Gabrielle and me while we were working on transitioning from Illinois to Wyoming.

We arrived in Laramie over the weekend, concluding two days of driving to arrive in our new home state! I want to thank the university operations team for making the Jenkins House, where we will be living for the next year, such a beautiful place for us to call home.

While we are so excited to be joining the University of Wyoming, leaving Illinois came with a measure of both satisfaction and sadness. It is the place where I have spent the biggest part of my career, both early in the formative stages of my career when I learned how to build grand challenge teams with collaborators from the arts to astronomy, and more recently when I focused on partnerships among education, government and private-sector institutions for economic development. There were a number of wonderful and occasionally tearful goodbyes with many friends and colleagues from both of these eras (all appropriately safe and distanced; see photo below for one of them on our computer and another at President Killeen’s home!). I did arrive in Laramie with a great Western belt and buckle that were a departing gift from neighboring universities that form the Illinois Innovation Network that I worked with, so with help from friends across Illinois I already have made a small step toward having all the right attire to fit in!

We spent most of the weekend unpacking and trying to get settled into our house and taking a few short drives to explore the beauty of this amazing area. We’ve already gone on several hikes, and experienced a flat tire (without a spare) near Crater Lake deep in the forest north of Centennial (see photos), as we attempt to take some much-needed down time prior to officially starting in my UW role next week. I have a feeling that the speed at which life is about to move is going to be exhilarating, challenging, rewarding and one that will set records! The last four months have shown me already how passionate and committed the UW community and state are to the University of Wyoming. We are close to being fully fledged “Pokes” and really can’t wait!

In addition to the travel and arrival to Wyoming, the last week brought focus on a number of topics, including making progress toward building the senior leadership team, including beginning a search for a new provost, dean searches and the structure of the president’s cabinet. I anticipate spending significant time working on further developing this leadership team in the coming year, as well as developing a plan for strategic directions for the future, with much communication and input from across the university and state. I have also continued to work closely with the Board of Trustees, as well other leadership across the state (including Leadership Wyoming), so I feel well connected already as I prepare to hit the ground running next week.

Thank you all, again, for joining me each week for these updates. Next week will mark a momentous step in my own journey, and I look forward to getting to know you, and to work with you, as we lay a path for the future of the university together.

Best regards,

President-Designate Ed Seidel