UW’s The Director of Governmental Relations, Mike Massie, is retiring after three and a half years of holding the position. Massie’s official last day is December 23 and his last official day with UW will be January 8.
Massie was previously a Wyoming state senator and a member of the Wyoming State House of Representatives. Before getting the job as director of Governmental Relations, he served as an executive director of Child Development Services in Wyoming.
“When I first found out about this job I saw it as an opportunity to do something meaningful for UW,” Massie said.
In his three and a half years at UW Massie has assisted in accomplishing a variety of things. He helped to secure an additional $400 million in state funding for UW, secured the funding for the addition to the Performing Arts Building and urged funding for a UW Agricultural Building on the Sheridan College campus. In addition, he has assisted in getting UW’s Science Initiative going.
“Anything worthwhile is never accomplished by oneself,” said Massie. “I think I have helped make UW’s relationships with the community colleges stronger.”
Massie is not the only one who believes that he has done an exceptional job. UW’s Director of Institutional Communications Chad Baldwin said that Massie’s incessant work ethic made him a vital part of UW.
“He has worked tirelessly to build those connections with local government leaders, legislators, community college officials and citizens,” Baldwin said.
Though Massie helped do great things for the university, he also hopes that he made a difference to people at UW.
“I hope that I have made some impacts on people, that is probably the most long lasting and substantial effect that anyone can have and that is to positively impact people,” Massie said.
Baldwin said that Massie had an impact on him.
“I have learned much from watching him work on behalf of the university and the community, and I plan to emulate his approach in my responsibilities at UW,” Baldwin said.
In the future, Massie hopes to focus on the pursuits he most enjoys.
“It’s impossible to know for sure what is coming down the line,” Massie said, but he added that he hopes to do historical research; after all, his graduate degree is in History. He also wants to brush-up on his French, do some genealogy and maybe teach a course or two at UW. Naturally, he also wants to travel. “So that is sort of the wish list and I am sure that I will get to every one of those things eventually,” Massie said.
In celebration of his retirement, Massie plans to go to a bar downtown and drink a beer with his wife and anyone who wants to send up can do so by meeting him there.
