WORTH logo over a picture of salmon, the Wort Hotel, and a person hiking

WORTH: About

Background


Tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming, generating over $4.8 billion in 2023. In addition, tourism is the largest private employment sector in Wyoming, employing over 33,000. In 2018, the University of Wyoming started the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management degree as a partnership with the Haub School and the College of Business. The degree program now boasts over 80 students enrolled. However, more industry support and engagement was identified as a gap through the Strategic Accelerated Review Process (below) under the direction of President Seidel.

 

History


Through the 2020 UW Strategic Accelerated Review Process the Haub School, in partnership with the College of Business and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, proposed the establishment of WORTH. In 2021, President Seidel officially added WORTH as one of three new strategic initiatives. In January of 2022, WORTH received funding from the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP), phase I funding. In March of 2022, the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute officially kicked-off.

 

Mission


The mission of the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute is to support, expand, and diversify Wyoming’s economy through outdoor recreation, tourism, and hospitality industries. The Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute achieves its mission by:

  1. Delivering timely and relevant applied research for WORTH industries
  2. Supplying diverse workforce training products and services to students and working industry professionals
  3. Providing extension and outreach to the tourism industry across Wyoming
 
 
 
 
 
 






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