Alumni Philanthropy Makes a Difference

The lasting impact of Karen and Doc Schroeder.

For Karen and Dean “Doc” Schroeder, UW is more than just a place of higher learning — it’s a community that has shaped their lives, one that they are deeply committed to supporting. 

Karen’s path to higher education was not a traditional one. Raised in Wyoming and Nebraska, she juggled work and raising two sons while slowly accumulating college credits at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. With the encouragement of her future husband, Doc, who taught at LCCC, she completed her associate degree in business administration and then earned her bachelor’s in office administration at UW. She worked for Laramie County School District 1 for 28 years as an executive secretary.

“I got my bachelor’s degree, and it was really a thrill for me because it took me a long time, but I kept plugging at it,” Karen says. “Having a bachelor’s degree opened a lot of doors for me. It opened up my world.”

Doc’s journey in education followed a different path. A native of North Dakota, he pursued his academic career at the University of North Dakota before earning a doctorate in psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. He served as a teacher at Cheyenne East High School, as a professor at Laramie County Community College and in his own clinical psychology practice. 

Education has always been so important to both Karen and Doc. Their long careers were in education, and Doc’s family has long been involved in it.

“Both my parents were school teachers,” he says. “My mother taught what was called, in those days, home economics, and my father became the superintendent of schools in my hometown and held that position for 23 years.”

Throughout it all, Doc and Karen have been involved with UW. They have been football season ticket holders since 1973. In fact, he and Karen met on a bus chartered to take football fans from Cheyenne to Laramie and back.

“Coming back from a football game, I met this young lady who was there with a mutual friend of ours, and we started talking,” Doc says. “And guess what — 50 plus years later we’re still talking.” He and Karen have been active members of the Cowboy Joe Club, and Doc served as its board president.

Karen and Doc dated for almost 25 years before tying the knot. “We dated for 24 years and 11 months,” Karen says with a laugh. “We said, well, the kids are gone now and we have had five cats between us, so we thought maybe it’s time to get married.” They celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year, with sons, grandsons and great-grandsons all living near them in Cheyenne.

“This big extended family — we call them the in-laws and the outlaws,” Doc adds with a smile.

For Karen and Doc, giving back was a natural extension of their values. Their deep involvement with the UW Alumni Association and Cowboy Joe Club made them keenly aware of the challenges students face — both academically and financially.

“When I worked for the school district, we had little scholarships that would have a little bit of money in them,” Karen says. “I handled all of those. The donors of those scholarships really appreciated it. We’ve always believed in education, and we’ve always believed in doing everything we can to make sure that students have enough money that they don’t have to stress about it.”  

Their generous bequest will establish two funds: the Dean “Doc” and Karen L. Schroeder UWAA Scholarship, benefiting students with alumni family ties, and the Dean “Doc” and Karen L. Schroeder Athletics Excellence Fund, ensuring the continued success of UW’s student-athletes.

Their scholarship supports students who are family members of UW alumni, helping to sustain the rich tradition of a UW education across generations. And having spent decades following the Cowboys to stadiums across the country — sometimes every single game in a season — the Schroeders understand the dedication student-athletes bring to their craft. Their fund will ensure that UW’s athletic programs continue to provide world-class opportunities for student-athletes to excel both on and off the field.

One of the moments that the Schroeders will always remember is standing on Jonah Field during halftime for Doc to receive the White Hat Award — the Cowboy Joe Club’s most prestigious honor presented only on special occasions in recognition of an individual’s outstanding support of UW Athletics and the Cowboy Joe Club.

Their generosity isn’t confined to UW. The Schroeders have also established scholarships at Laramie County Community College, the University of North Dakota and the University of Northern Colorado — institutions that played pivotal roles in their lives. They also hope their story encourages others to consider how they, too, can make a difference.

For Karen and Doc Schroeder, philanthropy is about so much more than writing a check — it’s about ensuring that every student has the opportunity to build a future as bright as the one they’ve created together. Their legacy at UW will live on in the students whose lives they touch, ensuring that the Cowboy spirit of generosity and resilience endures for years to come.