At the heart of the University of Wyoming’s mission lies an unwavering commitment
to nurturing not only the academic promise of its students but also the excellence
of its faculty. That’s why the UW Foundation Board generously established two $2.5
million matching funds to incentivize gifts for student success and named faculty
positions at UW. Endowment gifts of $50,000 and above qualify for the matching funds
for both programs.
The success of these innovative programs surpassed expectations, with both funds fully committed in a few months.
For student success, this resulted in 24 new endowments across UW from agriculture to arts and humanities to petroleum engineering. It included a $500,000 gift (matched to $1 million) from Martha and Gerry Wyrsch to create a student enrichment fund in the Honors College.
For faculty, the impact was equally significant, creating four endowed positions. This included the university’s third named deanship in its history, a named department head, and a new professorship in early childhood education that will have benefits across the state. The funds were the H. A. “Dave” True, Jr. Family College of Business Deanship, the Thomas and Shelley Botts Department Head in Civil Engineering, the John P. Ellbogen Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Education, and the Donald L. Blackstone, Jr. Professorship in Geology.
“Thank you to the foundation board for providing these matching funds and to our amazing donors for their commitment to advancing UW,” says President Ed Seidel. “These matching initiatives catalyzed even greater donor engagement and heightened interest in UW’s cornerstones—students and faculty.”
