Brett Maciech
bmaciech@uwyo.edu
First woman UW president
Former South Dakota State University Administrator Laurie Nichols has been selected by the University of Wyoming Trustees to become the next president of UW. The former vice president for academic affairs at South Dakota State is replacing interim UW President Dick McGinity, who had held the position for the past two years. The trustees voted unanimously for Nichols in December amongst a group of three finalists. Nichols is the first woman to hold this position at the university. She is expected to assume office on May 16.
Grade structure changed in local schools
The Albany County School Board has approved an application allowing for a reconfiguration of the grade level structure at district schools for the 2016 to 2017 school year. Laramie High School will now be comprised by grades nine through 12, rather than the former 10 through 12. The Laramie Junior High School will now include grades six through eight. The Lindford and Indian Paintbrush Elementary School grades will constitute kindergarten through fifth grade, while the UW lab school will include kindergarten through eighth grade. There are no expected increased costs with the moves. Both staff and students will make the move over to the high school, also minimizing elementary school capacity concerns.
UW-Casper director named
Jeff Edgens, former associate vice president of academic affairs at Thomas University in Georgia, has been named the new director of UW-Casper and will work out of Casper. He has remained in contact with UW officials since January of last year and interviewed for the position in December. Edgens was the founding director of the East Georgia State-Augusta outreach campus, where he expanded the student base from 98 to 350 in 15 months. He will assume his new position at May 31.
UW member named to national coal council
Kipp Coddington, director of UW’s Carbon Management Institute, has been appointed to serve as a member of the national Coal Council, a federal advisory group that provides recommendations and guidance on policy issues pertaining to coal. He was appointed by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. This is the second UW appointment to the council following Maohong Fan, SER professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s department of chemical engineering in Fall 2014. He has a long history of working in Washington DC, advising fossil and energy companies on climate and environmental issues.
Wyo. economy may improve
The recent lifted oil export ban could prove beneficial for the Wyoming economy. The ban, which came in response to the 1973 oil crisis, kept all oil drilled on American soil in the U.S. Lifting this ban will allow producers to ship the oil to other locations around the globe that are better equipped to refine it. Lower gas prices could be a potential result of the repealed ban, as well as potentially provide extra revenue to producers reaching a point of bankruptcy. Increased drilling leading to greater economic effects within the state will not take place at least for another decade.
New diversity position
UW Trustees have approved a new “Special Assistant for Diversity” position for the university president. The assistant “shall, at the direction of the president and in collaboration with the other principal administrative officers of the university, lead the development and implementation of the university diversity plan.” A search committee to locate potential candidates to fill the position and to create a diversity plan will be formed this coming month.
Potential cyber defense program at UW
Governor Matt Mead has requested state funding to develop a cyber defense program at the university. The governor drafted a letter for UW to obtain certification as a National Center of Academic Excellence in information assurance and cyber defense. This certification, if approved, would be administered by the Department of Homeland Security and the NSA. The program needs two faculty members and involves formal training to continually learn new anti-attack tactics to protect Wyoming’s infrastructure, agencies, businesses and citizens. A research certification will eventually be needed; funds will be required to support the hypothetical faculty members and to help coordinate statewide efforts to market the program to students and citizens.
