UW McNair Scholar to Pursue Graduate Studies at Bowling Green State University

Taylar Stagnar, a McNair Scholar Program student from Riverton, has been accepted into the master’s degree program in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University with a full-ride scholarship.

The McNair Scholars Program is an undergraduate research program and graduate school preparation program for college sophomores, juniors and seniors. The program provides services that promote successful entry to graduate school and increase the likelihood that participants will complete a Ph.D. program.

Stagnar, who is an American Studies major in the UW College of Arts and Sciences, an Arapahoe and Eastern Shoshone tribal member. As part of the McNair program, she conducted research on the Wind River Indian Reservation and the conflicts that exist in border towns within its boundaries. Angela Jaime, the UW American Indian Studies Program director, mentored Stagnar throughout her research.

Stagnar recently presented her research at the Midwest Popular Culture Association conference in Indianapolis, Ind., and is currently co-authoring, with Jaime, a book chapter, titled “Theater in Critical Race Theory: A Native American Perspective.”

While studying at UW, Stagnar also was an intern with Wyoming Public Media. She now works as a reporter who sometimes volunteers in cultural affairs, reporting on Indigenous issues.

Having been a theater major at Central Wyoming College, Stagnar has a love for performing. She was an actress in the Wyoming Shakespeare Company and has performed in and served as board member, treasurer and archivist of the Laramie Burlesque nonprofit.

Through her graduate work, she hopes to improve conditions on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The UW McNair Scholars Program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and has been continuously funded and active on the UW campus since 1992. Since the program's inception at UW, more than 60 UW McNair alumni have gone on to earn their doctoral degrees in a wide variety of fields and disciplines.

Twelve to 16 highly motivated undergraduates with a desire to pursue a Ph.D. are selected each year to become McNair Scholars.