President Ed Seidel and ASUW President Kameron Murfitt hosted a town hall event in Pokes Pub on the evening of Monday, Sep. 30. At this event, our presidents focused on three leading themes. These included how the university will continue to support our student body following the ODEI and Multicultural Affairs closure, UW’s goal to achieve Carnegie R1 classification in the next year, and the long-term goals of the university.
To start the event, Seidel attempted to ease concern about the DEI matter by assuring that the administration is committed to every student and is doing everything possible to support them. He went on to explain that without state funding and support, the university is currently working to improve language within its definition of diversity, equity, and inclusion and its activities. There is a search for additional private funding for these offices beyond the current endowment funds. In the meantime, we are offered the Shepard Symposium on Social Justice which will be taking place Oct. 14-20.
The second theme of the evening surrounded the plan to gain the highest classification a research university can obtain: R1 status. As a current R2 university and having received $150 million in annual funding, there are plans to continue to increase research opportunities for students across campus. With concern towards a decrease in teaching with the increase in research, Seidel claimed that they go hand in hand and there will be more capacity for innovation and creativity as a result.
“There are no drawbacks [to increased research at UW] as long as we maintain the commitment to our students,” Pres. Seidel said.
Student Reece Davies raised concerns about what is being done to support humanities studies. In response, Seidel explained that Humanities at UW is “healthier than ever” and that the recent reorganization of colleges left a stronger focus on Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Additionally, UW created the first PhD program in Humanities out of the English department. Humanities Day is set for Oct. 7-9 with workshops and a speaker series in hopes of continuing to establish the University as a leader in the Humanities.
President Seidel then segued into discussing the goals of the university in the next 10 years. Due to advances, such as Artificial Intelligence and robotics, Seidel speculated that the job markets will transform in entirety and brought up a statistic that because of medical advances, human life expectancy increases by 4 months annually. As the world continues to change and technology evolves exponentially, education must follow suit. Seidel explained that the University is committed to evolving alongside these advances to ensure students receive the necessary skills to be hired in their prospective fields. Additionally, with the University of Wyoming receiving over half of our funding from the state, UW seeks financial diversification through more corporate partnerships and donors.
Beyond the three predetermined themes of the evening, the presidents accepted questions from those in attendance. The most voiced concerns within the room pertained to the safety of the roundabout for pedestrians, along with parking on campus. Seidel explained that he had tested the campus transportation and parking situation himself. Having parked in a remote lot and riding the WyoRoundup bus, he believes the situation to be above average in comparison to other universities. He also noted that UW needs to increase awareness of the WyoRoundup bus routes and that as construction on campus declines, parking availability will increase.
In terms of pedestrian safety and walkability of the newly constructed roundabout, various committees are working on the issue. This includes a committee within ASUW, which is willing to accept recommendations. One recommendation currently being considered is better lighting at the roundabout to increase visibility at night. Beyond adding lighting to the roundabout, ASUW is working to add more lighting throughout campus through their Special Projects Initiative.
To wrap up the evening, Seidel assured the students that regardless of the Dean and Provost resigning, the university has a solid administration and is doubling down on its commitment to students.
“ASUW is very thankful for the opportunity to bring Ed Seidel to come and talk to students directly. We look towards the future in partnership with the university’s upper administration to work together to face the problems affecting students here on campus,” ASUW President Kameron Murfitt said.
