Building Partnerships

UW’s new Industry and Strategic Partnerships Office connects industry, government and nonprofits with the university to create mutually beneficial relationships.

One year ago, the University of Wyoming launched the Office of Industry and Strategic Partnerships, a collaborative venture between UW’s Research and Economic Development Division and the UW Foundation to establish dynamic alliances between academia and industry, with a goal to foster innovation and economic impact throughout the state and beyond.

The office aims to connect companies with UW to create meaningful partnerships. These partnerships highlight opportunities for faculty and subject-matter experts, foster cutting-edge research, direct curricula and hands-on learning, enhance graduate hiring, and generate investment to support the university.

The offices’ industry-focused activity is led by Angela Ver Ploeg, senior director of corporate engagement. The office recently welcomed Emma-Jane Alexander, associate director of industry engagement, and Katie Schlomer, industry engagement coordinator, to the team.

UW has been engaged with industry, agency and the government, arguably since 1886. However, this new office creates a formalized hub for that activity to take place and for UW to accelerate and accentuate that work — whether it’s research and development, philanthropic support or with students directly.

The office works to build mutually beneficial partnerships, to deliver resources and to manage information. For example, a company may attend UW job fairs looking to hire graduates, but it may also be interested in other types of partnerships such as connecting UW alumni from that company to current students interested in the field, partnering on research, supporting programs of interest or guest-speaking in related courses. Large companies partner as well as smaller local companies.

“Navajo Transitional Energy Company is a great success story,” Ver Ploeg says. “Having acquired the assets of Cloud Peak Energy in 2019, NTEC became the third-largest producer of coal in the United States. With their coal playing an essential part of our work in the Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion, we have worked closely in recent years to understand their needs and introduce programs of interest on campus. They have since engaged in projects with our 3D Visualization Center at the School of Energy Resources, recruited on campus and are establishing an endowed fund to support energy programs at UW.”

Continental Resources is another great success story. “Having purchased Chesapeake Energy’s Powder River Basin assets in 2022, they became a major player in the state,” Ver Ploeg says. “We’ve worked closely with their team to understand how UW can best meet their needs. Continental Resources is a regular visitor to campus, is part of an industry advisory board, recruits UW students, has hosted engineering students at their headquarters in Oklahoma City and is engaged in research projects on campus.”

In addition to philanthropically supporting research or programs, members of industry often provide letters of support, serve on boards or serve as advisers on curriculum and program development. The office also works with the state’s community colleges and government entities.

The office helps to coordinates efforts across campus.

“Through our work with our colleagues across campus, we are able to provide an individualized, company-centered experience for our industry partners.” Ver Ploeg says.

The office gathers data and coordinates efforts across campus.

“We’ve deployed a pretty comprehensive process for identifying our top partners and creating holistic strategies around how we engage those companies and grow those relationships,” Ver Ploeg says.

Wyoming Business Council Business Recruitment Manager Wendy Lopez says the new office makes it easy to connect companies with UW. “I can call and say, ‘I have a lead coming into town,’ and they can put me in touch or set up meetings with exactly who I need to get those people in front of at the university,” Lopez says. “That’s been super helpful in terms of being able to take a company to the university, to give them the tour and meet with professors and talk about the talent pipeline, or if the company is interested in doing some type of research.”

Interested in engaging on campus? Visit industry.uwyo.edu to learn more.