But yeah, there’s snow in (0:22) the in the mountains and I have a feeling that winter could still hit us (0:28) pretty pretty good here. There’s still plenty of time. Plenty of time, absolutely.

(0:32) Well, as always, Chad, appreciate your time and and and the updates from the (0:36) University. I think we better start with the the Joint Appropriations Committee, of (0:41) course, heading into the legislative session here in just a couple of weeks (0:43) and the the recommendation from the from the GAC to cut 40 million from the (0:49) budget to the University of Wyoming. So wanted to start with there, start there, (0:53) what’s been the initial response from the University and if if that were to (0:58) happen, and of course there’s still a long way to go for that to happen (1:02) through the legislative process, but what would that look like for the (1:04) University? Sure, well, Duke, first of all, I think it’s important to to point out (1:10) that the University has received great support over the years from the (1:14) legislature and the governor and our elected officials and so we really (1:19) appreciate that.

What it has allowed us to do over the years is to to maintain (1:25) that constitutional mandate as being as nearly free as possible to the people of (1:30) Wyoming to attend here and and so, you know, with that context, I would have to (1:40) say, as President Seidel said in an op-ed yesterday, that we’re a bit (1:44) confounded at the current situation and that’s because, well, you know, the (1:48) University has certainly taken its share of reductions over the years when (1:52) the the state’s economy has gone down and that includes some pretty hefty cuts (1:58) in most recently in 2018 and then 2022 when it was a 30 million dollar (2:03) reduction. The state’s finances, as far as we can tell, are not in a crisis (2:10) situation and so this a cut of this magnitude coming at a time when the (2:16) state’s doing okay and actually doing pretty well is kind of hitting us (2:23) you know, maybe from the blind side a little bit. I mean, and so, you (2:29) know, our administration, our board of trustees has not made any decisions (2:34) about what we would cut if this comes to pass but this is 11% (2:39) of what we get from the state of Wyoming and again, coming after the (2:44) previous reductions, we’re gonna have to, we’d have to stop doing some things we (2:48) currently are doing and probably reduce the scope of the programs (2:54) that we offer to students in Wyoming and so anyway, that’s kind of the reaction (2:59) we’re in now.

We’re trying to let people know about it. Again, we don’t want to (3:04) get in a spitting match with anybody on this but folks need to know what (3:09) it would mean to the state’s university if this were to happen. You know, Chad, as (3:13) you talk about the university and the impact as in Laramie but (3:16) statewide as a whole, that’s what you and I discuss all the time is (3:20) the university’s impact even here on the western side of the state so what would (3:24) be maybe your reason for why the university should continue to (3:29) receive the funding, I guess is the question today and why should this (3:33) not happen? Sure.

I think, Duke, first of all it’s an issue of being accessible to (3:41) having a high quality higher education accessible to the people of Wyoming so (3:47) Wyoming’s young people and even folks who are maybe non-traditional age can (3:52) get a top quality education at a very affordable price. I mean, that’s (3:57) our main value proposition of the people of Wyoming always. At the same (4:01) time, you know, we do a lot of research and service around the state.

That’s part (4:06) of our land-grant mission and, you know, we have extension offices in every (4:11) county of Wyoming doing important things to help local communities. We have (4:16) researchers and doing things that are, things like, I’m thinking a (4:21) great example may be invasive weeds, for example, which is a big issue Wyoming (4:27) across the state. You know, we at the university, it plays a lead role in (4:32) combating this problem and I’m not saying we would have to stop doing that (4:36) completely.

We’d certainly prioritize the things that are most important but the (4:41) full array of what we provide is quite extensive and would probably have (4:46) to be winnowed back some and so, you know, those are just some initial (4:50) thoughts, Duke. It’s, you know, the founders of our state decided that a (4:57) university was so important that they’ve created the university before we even (5:01) were a state and so, you know, when you talk about essential infrastructure in (5:07) Wyoming, which is these days, of course, highways and fire prevention and (5:12) water management and, you know, a whole host of things, some health care things, (5:18) it’s like higher ed was considered a key piece of infrastructure from the very (5:23) start and so, you know, that’s, we need to maintain our higher ed (5:30) infrastructure, I guess I would say, and this would be a complete (5:34) about-face from what generations of elected officials in Wyoming have (5:40) prioritized, which is we want a world-class university here in our state. (5:45) Chad Baldwin, Marketing Communications with the University of Wyoming, with us (5:48) on the Weekday Wake-Up.

Chad, let’s talk about a few other things happening at UW (5:51) over here on Lincoln County along with, of course, other places of the state. (5:56) We’re talking coal and what’s the future of coal and how can we keep coal relevant (6:00) especially in the new, or this refinery filled demonstration plant has (6:06) the potential for new coal markets to be opened up. Tell us what this is.

(6:10) Yeah, it’s an exciting project, Duke. It’s up by Gillette and this is finding new (6:16) uses for coal. We have seen a bit of a recommitment on the part of the federal (6:22) administration to having a viable coal industry for power generation, but (6:26) there’s a, you know, we’ll see how long that, I mean, it’s the markets are (6:30) probably going to dictate that sort of thing and the projections are that, you (6:35) know, probably that’s not going to be a growth area.

And so what are (6:40) some things, we got a lot of coal, what can we do with it? So we’re talking about (6:43) things, everything from a soil amendments, like fertilizer to help (6:48) crops, to construction materials, like bricks you can make out of coal, (6:57) to things you can use for paving roads and highways, and there’s a (7:02) whole bunch more. So this is a facility dedicated to advancing carbon products (7:06) using coal and its byproducts. And the Powder River Basin, of course, is a (7:12) perfect location for it.

And this is the sort of thing that Wyoming’s (7:17) University is doing to help the states. This is a legacy industry that’s so (7:22) important to us, and we’re dedicated to this sort of thing. So anyway, it’s an (7:27) exciting project headed up by our School of Energy Resources.

(7:31) Chad, just a couple of items here at the end. Tell us about the UW Medical (7:35) Education Program students. It sounds like a clerkship rotation are beginning.

(7:40) Yeah, you know, people don’t often realize, but, you know, so we’re (7:44) affiliated with the University of Washington Medical School because we (7:47) don’t have our own medical school, but the students from Wyoming here accepted (7:51) into this, and there’s 20 a year, do the first year and a half of their school (7:56) work right here in Laramie. And so we’re kind of a medical, you know, it’s a (8:00) medical school basically, but it’s affiliated, of course, with an (8:05) established one in Washington. But anyway, so after the students complete (8:08) that first part, then they go into the clinical phase, which is what we’re (8:13) kind of celebrating this new class doing.

And they’ll be out around the state, out (8:18) around the region, learning how to be doctors. And this includes some, this (8:23) particular class has a real strong Western Wyoming flavor to it. Duke, they (8:28) have Shane Nelson from there, and Afton, we have, let’s see, we have two (8:33) students from Green River, two from Jackson, two from Rock Springs.

So anyway, (8:40) this is kind of just something we like to celebrate, and maybe it kind of (8:43) flies under the radar, but we’re producing doctors here at UW, (8:48) in affiliation with the University of Washington. And of course, the cool thing (8:53) is many of these students, after they become doctors, come back and practice (8:56) right here in Wyoming. And so that’s a very cool aspect that maybe (9:02) people don’t think about at UW.

Yeah, of course, absolutely. And looking more back (9:07) at energy, it sounds like the university is looking for a new executive director (9:11) for the School of Energy Resources, right? That’s right, yeah. Holly Kretka, who led (9:16) the School of Energy Resources for, I think it was like five or six years, has (9:21) moved, taken a different position in the private sector.

And this really (9:27) important part of the university is, we’re moving forward in conjunction (9:34) with the Energy Resources Council, which is a governing body for the (9:39) School of Energy Resources here at UW. That search is underway. There’s a (9:45) search firm that’s been employed, and this is a nationally and (9:50) internationally recognized part of the university.

We expect we’re going to get (9:53) some really good applicants to help to continue driving this (9:58) important work for the energy sector of the state’s economy here at UW. That’s (10:04) Chad Baldwin, Marketing and Communications with the University of (10:07) Wyoming. Chad, as always, appreciate the update.

Thank you so much for your time. (10:11) Thanks a lot, Duke. It’s all part of the weekday wake-up this morning on the SVI (10:14) Radio Network.