Programs Making a Difference

From improving health care and local parks to helping solve complex environmental and historical challenges, UW programs benefit citizens across the state.

By Micaela Myers 

Wyoming to Wales: Learning and Languages

In 2023, UW and Cardiff University in Wales signed a five-year partnership agreement for joint ventures in research and education. This initiative built upon a previous memorandum of understanding signed in 2021.

“This strategic partnership marks a substantial commitment to fostering meaningful collaborations across the disciplines,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “We envision projects that expand the scope and impact of our research, that create new opportunities for student and faculty exchange, and that will generate connections between Wales and Wyoming that will benefit both our universities and our broader communities.”

As part of this partnership, a group of UW faculty members and students visited Wales in May to see how the country revitalized Welsh language in education, tourism and government. They contemplated how this information may relate to the Arapaho, Eastern Shoshone and other Indigenous languages — some still remembered on our maps and some no longer noted.

The group included UW faculty members Tarissa Spoonhunter, Bridget Groat, Phineas Kelly, Richard Vercoe and Mary Keller, and UW students Darwin St. Clair Jr. and Juwan Willow. They traveled across Wales and visited Cardiff University, the National Library of Wales, museums, historical landmarks, a slate mine and much more. Along the way, they saw street signs, directions, museum exhibition information, national park brochures, and all sorts of information in both in Welsh and English. They received fun handouts that help tourists learn basic Welsh phrases. A group from Cardiff University then visited UW in July to further discuss language revitalization.

“The overall purpose of our trip was to learn about the Welsh language and how it is normalized within Wales to help grow the language,” says St. Clair, a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from Fort Washakie, Wyo., majoring in secondary education and math with a minor in Indigenous studies. “The number of Welsh speakers had been decreasing. To combat this, the Welsh government created a scheme to have teachers take up to a year of paid sabbatical to properly learn Welsh. This was really cool to hear about, since I’m a future educator and also can relate to the Welsh people in wanting to preserve their culture with language. The issue of language loss is a significant problem not for just my tribe but many others in the United States.”

High Plains American Indian Research Institute Director Tarissa Spoonhunter says, “I am a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, and language is vital to our people and cultural ways of knowing. Seeing how Wales mandated Welsh language into federal policy was impressive. Tribes struggle finding the support in language revitalization through soft funding of grants rather than government mandates and support for immersion programs.”

Among other things, the UW faculty members are thinking about how Indigenous languages survive in a time when artificial intelligence and the internet primarily utilize and promote English. They are also considering the relationship of language to tourism.

“Language is one of those key components to help maintain cultural vibrancy,” says Vercoe, an assistant lecturer in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. “We looked at what occurred in the formal recognition process of the Welsh language, what the initial steps were, what were the challenges, and onto where it is now — having a language that is very much integrated.”

Kelly teaches courses in Native American and Indigenous studies and anthropology at UW and works with the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Rapa Nui people to strengthen indigenous language and culture. He says: “A key aspect of the ongoing Welsh language revitalization process is how Welsh is now formally used, displayed and valued in diverse settings from street signs to historical markers, shop windows and the names of government buildings and institutions. This was both inspirational and humbling given the current lack of such representation for Indigenous languages here in Wyoming. The bilingual signage at Cardiff University that uses both Welsh and English is a good example of something we could do here at UW to support and value the indigenous languages and people of Wyoming.”

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Collaborative Solutions

Many environmental issues put folks at odds with one another. Say, for example, you work for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and are trying to repopulate streams with native trout species and remove nonnative species. However, locals who fish for rainbow trout are not happy about it. Your best bet is to contact the UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources Collaborative Solutions program in the Ruckelshaus Institute. The Collaborative Solutions program brings stakeholders together to facilitate collaborative decision making that creates inclusive lasting solutions.

A second program — the Collaboration Program in Natural Resources — provides training in multi-party negotiation and problem solving to natural resource decision makers and engaged citizens. Both programs help Wyoming manage its environment collaboratively.

“What we do at the Ruckelshaus Institute is to provide evidence-based information for decision makers in the state around environment and natural resource issues,” says Steve Smutko, who recently retired as the Spicer Chair of Collaborative Practice after serving for 14 years. “The second thing that we do is collaborative solutions. Primarily this work has policy focus and is Wyoming-centric — for example, helping the Department of Environmental Quality develop rules for protecting water or air quality.”

The program brings together stakeholders who are passionate about the issue at hand to meet over several months. First, they agree on what the problem is. Then each person shares what’s important to them, such as making a living off their land or protecting the water quality. Next, the group generates options and alternatives — ways to achieve various people’s interests and objectives.

“We generate a whole list of potential ideas, then we evaluate those ideas,” Smutko says. “And we ask our stakeholders to make trade-offs. We facilitate those negotiations and find a place where they can all reach agreement.”

Gov. Mark Gordon recently called upon the program to help with the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan by facilitating a working group to provide recommendations for him to use in negotiations with the Bureau of Land Management. The program also worked with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest on trails development and with the U.S. Forest Service on prescribed burns.

In addition to this work, the Collaboration Program in Natural Resources provides a 10-month professional development opportunity for people from all levels of government, nonprofits, industry, landowners and anybody who has any interest in natural resources management and policy. Each cohort consists of around 12 people, and about 150 folks have been trained so far.

“We provide training to people so that they are better equipped to handle these thorny issues that they have to work through in a way that brings people to the table to participate in meaningful dialogue,” Smutko says.

Aaron Voos, public affairs specialist for Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland, says: “The resources provided by the Haub School and Ruckelshaus Institute are invaluable. I have personally benefited from the Collaboration Program in Natural Resources as a graduate, and the USDA Forest Service has engaged both students and staff for management issues, facilitation, shared learning, research, employment opportunities and so on. Our Forest Service unit is often the envy of other agency offices due to our relationship and proximity to such an amazing pool of individuals — all of whom dive into collaborative opportunities with a willingness to learn, teach and utilize such a powerful tool.”

Smutko says that this work is especially effective in a low-population state such as Wyoming. “I consider it to be a state of relationships,” he says. “I’ve done this work across the United States, and in Wyoming, people really get it because we have to work with our neighbors whether we agree with them or not. I find Wyoming to be a really wonderful place to work because people don’t take these relationships for granted.”

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Wyoming Center on Aging

The United States faces an ever-increasing population of individuals 65 and older. UW’s Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) addresses this growing need with a broad range of programs and resources aimed at optimizing the health and well-being of Wyoming’s older residents. WyCOA offers innovative collaborations regarding chronic disease management, dementia support, and family and health care provider education.

“Historically, there has been limited sustained availability of programs to support people in Wyoming as they manage chronic illnesses,” says WyCOA Director Christine McKibbin. “To increase access, we believed that we needed a coordinated approach. It really takes many champions within many organizations to create a network of self-management support in any state.”

For example, WyCOA partners with the Wyoming Department of Health Chronic Disease Prevention Program on the Healthier Wyoming website and on a variety of evidence-based prevention and management programming, including Healthy U chronic disease self-management and cancer care. The partnership also brought blood pressure monitors to several Wyoming libraries. In addition, WyCOA provides educational programing — including Wyoming Dementia Together, a community of professionals who provide free education and support to caregivers; Dementia On the Road, which brings dementia education and resources to Wyoming communities; and SHARE for Dementia, a care-planning program for families. For health care professionals and students, WyCOA offers a virtual care coordination certificate program for primary care professionals, a dementia care certificate, a program on infectious diseases and a UW ECHO in Geriatrics, where health care professionals receive best-practice recommendations in a virtual setting.

“There is a great deal of research to support that these programs make a difference in the quality of life and health outcomes for people living with chronic or other health conditions,” McKibbin says. “When UW students participate in these programs, it gives them an understanding of the many strengths that older adults bring. Students can also get to know and learn from the vast experience of older adults in their communities and carry those lessons forward with them as they enter the health professions.”

WyCOA also partners with Wyoming hospitals and health systems. For example, both Ivinson Medical Group and Cheyenne Regional Medical Center established chronic care management programs, and Ivinson became the first Age-Friendly Health System in Wyoming.

“As we age, we tend to develop one or more chronic conditions, and managing those conditions well is important to continuing to engage in what matters to us,” McKibbin says. “I am particularly passionate about making sure that older adults in Wyoming have access to the same programs that are available in other areas — especially to programs that we know work when it comes to improving well-being and health outcomes. At the same time, I am passionate about looking to our own communities for strengths and solutions that can be a model for other communities, states and regions.”

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Wyoming Rural Teacher Corps

Across the country, rural school districts struggle to recruit and retain teachers. While working in a rural location can feel isolating to new teachers, these districts also provide unique opportunities to get to know families and to work closely with tight-knit communities. To provide prospective rural teachers with the information and support they need to thrive in rural settings, the UW College of Education launched the Wyoming Rural Teacher Corps.

“The Rural Teacher Corps is a unique opportunity to showcase the amazing assets and qualities of rural schools and communities and then to also nurture our preservice teachers,” says Alison Mercier, the Mary Garland Early Career Fellow and assistant professor of elementary science education. She co-directs the program with Leslie Cook, head of professional learning at the Teton Science Schools.

Students from all types of backgrounds enroll in the Rural Teacher Corps, and the program connects them with mentors currently teaching in rural settings and takes them on field trips to rural districts.

“Visiting rural schools and learning from teachers made the biggest impact,” says Danielle Clapper, an elementary education major from Veteran, Wyo. “It changed my view of the future and what’s possible in rural schools.”

Teton Science Schools is a partner in the corps and plays a key role in the place-based educational offerings, including leading a weeklong workshop.

“Place-based education is important for all classrooms, but it is especially important in rural schools with its emphasis on the culture, history and traditions of those places where you’re teaching,” Mercier says.

Rural Teacher Corps mentors come from districts throughout Wyoming and are matched with UW students based on each student’s area of focus and interest.

UW students in the corps also lead a STEM night each year in Rock River and work with the local teachers to plan hands-on activities. 

“STEM night was the most impactful thing I’ve done with Rural Teacher Corps because the parents were there with their kids and the community came together,” says Mitch Dollerschell, an elementary education major from Merino, Colo. “It gave me a chance to practice finding common ground with parents and community members.”

Many UW students who took part in the first year of the Rural Teacher Corps wanted to return this past school year, so Mercier and Cook designed individualized pathways for them to gain additional knowledge, mentorship and exploration in rural teaching. Funding for the corps has come from the George B. Storer Foundation and College of Education Dean’s Office, and organizers are working with the UW Foundation to secure additional funding. They hope to expand corps offerings in the future. For example, this past school year, the Rural Teacher Corps began providing graduates with mini grants to help set up their classrooms or to attend professional development, and graduates continue to be mentored as they start their careers.

Mercier says, “We hope that we prepare them to not just to get a job in a rural school after graduation but also to be successful and to thrive here in Wyoming.”

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Carbon County Park Challenge

When UW Carbon County Extension Educator Abby Perry moved to Rawlins 10 years ago, she wanted to start a park day tradition with her own kids similar to her mother’s — each week her mother and nieces would visit a different park. She also wanted to contribute to her community’s beautification and health initiatives.

Last year, Perry garnered startup funding from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation and launched the Carbon County Park Challenge in partnership with Discover Carbon County and local businesses. The challenge ties together 25 parks across the county’s 10 incorporated towns. Each park will feature a sign and map of all the county’s parks, a QR code to learn more about the park and a raised medallion specific to the park. Visitors can use a piece of scrap paper to make an etching of the medallion. After visitors gather all etchings, they will earn a “I completed the Carbon County Park Challenge” sticker.

Perry hopes the project will encourage physical exercise and family time as well as improve experiences for visitors to Carbon County. In the future, she plans to apply for grants for park improvement projects such as pollinator gardens, free little libraries and interactive stations. For example, Wyoming’s Cent$ible Nutrition Program has stencils for games including hopscotch, and additional stations could offer balls or toy cars to use while in the park. Perry believes other communities can create similar park challenges.

“I want this community to be best that it can be because this is where I’m raising my family and where I’ve put down roots,” Perry says. “But I think I can also contribute to the beautification and economy of our community. I can help make it a prettier place so that, when people drive through it, they want to stop and explore.”