UW School of Graduate Education to Open Thursday

The University of Wyoming is proving its commitment to providing top-tier graduate education programs and research opportunities with the formation of the School of Graduate Education.

The school, set to officially open Thursday, Sept. 1, will continue to elevate the visibility of the university’s advanced degree education mission and support its broad offering of more than 100 graduate programs and certificates.

Previously, all graduate program administrative functions were carried out by UW’s Office of Graduate Education. The same functions performed by the Office of Graduate Education will continue under the School of Graduate Education. Those functions include strategic leadership and oversight of all UW graduate programs; allocation of graduate teaching assistantship funding; implementation and enforcement of graduate education policies and procedures; graduate student marketing and recruitment; and advocacy and support for graduate students.

“UW’s commitment to graduate education is firm and long-standing,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “Many of our ambitions as Wyoming’s land-grant and flagship university hinge on high-performing graduate programs, and the School of Graduate Education will raise the visibility and presence of graduate education here, around the state and across the higher education landscape.”

Vice Provost for Graduate Education James Ahern will lead the School of Graduate Education and serve as both vice provost and dean of the graduate school.

“Vibrant graduate programs are essential to fulfilling the mission of a research university, and the establishment of the School of Graduate Education is a major milestone toward that end,” Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman says. “Vice Provost Ahern has been a tireless advocate for the establishment of the School of Graduate Education, and UW is in his debt bringing us to this important day.”

The graduate school also will serve as the conduit through which significant improvement to UW’s graduate education functioning will be made, including reestablishment of the graduate faculty, creation of a graduate student council, and clarification and elevation of the role of UW’s Graduate Council.

“I am privileged to serve in the new graduate school dean role and continue to lead UW’s graduate education efforts. Creation of a UW graduate school is a positive step forward,” Ahern says. “I joined Academic Affairs in 2017 inspired by the Graduate Council’s 2015 report and a subsequent Faculty Senate resolution in favor of reestablishing a graduate school. The broad support for a graduate school from across campus and beyond reflects the important role that UW has in offering high-quality advanced degrees and scholarship.”

UW’s School of Graduate Education is located at 1000 E. University Ave., Knight Hall, Room 250, Laramie, WY, 82071. The main office can be reached at (307) 766-6478 or graded@uwyo.edu.