Learning the uniqueness of Wyoming

WORLAND - Two years ago University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols made her first visit to Worland, shortly after being hired as the 26th president of the university. Wednesday she made a return visit and reflected on what she has learned in her first two years.

Sitting down for an interview before an open house with Worland area residents at the Worland Community Center Wednesday morning, Nichols said working at UW has, for the most part, been what she has expected, but there have been few surprises or "learning experiences" along the way.

"It has been what I expected in that I expected the university to be a really strong land-grant university and I have not been disappointed. It is a strong, land-grant university that I think does a great job of educating students at a very, affordable cost ... That's kind of amazing what the state has been able to do in terms of keeping the cost of education so low. Other states have not been able to do that. That piece has been really affirming to me," Nichols said.

One of the learning experiences is "getting used to a state that has a really robust and strong community college system, but one four-year university. That's unique. I had never been in a state structured like that."

She added, "That brings its own set of challenges and I would uniqueness in terms of how the system works. That has taken me a little bit of time to get used to, quite honestly, and I think I'm getting there."

Nichols said it has been important to her to get to know each community college and see how they work together but also to see and understand how each of the seven community colleges are unique.

She said the challenge comes with the University of Wyoming being the only university to offer bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees.

"We really do have to serve the state. It's critical because there's not anybody else across the state that could pick up something where we are not offering a degree. I always came from states where there were multiple universities, so if there was one who didn't do it, there was another one that could step in," Nichols said.

Another learning experience is that Wyoming is a small state, in terms of people, Nichols said. "People here are very connected. I'm always amazed at how fast news travels. That piece, I continue to be surprised about."

She added, "Those are some of the unique things about the state, I like them, but it's taken a while to get used to them."

GROWTH

Nichols said one of the biggest challenges for the future is "right sizing the university" and trying to grow it a little bit but getting it to a size that will be right for the university and Wyoming. "I don't imagine we would ever get bigger than 14,000 for example, and that's even going to take time to get there," she said.

As they do grow, she said they need to improve student housing and make other modest adjustments "so we really are a first-class university for the state of Wyoming. We've got work to do, especially in housing. That's going to be our next big project and big challenge."

Fall enrollment is estimated to be about 12,500. She said the hope is to be at 13,500 by 2022.

Nichols added that 14,000 is "a really nice size. It's big enough to feel like you're a big player, you're a large university, but it is not so big that you still have a lot of personal attention. Students are not a number, they are really individuals and I don't think the university ever wants to lose that."

HATHAWAY

"The Hathaway scholarship, in general is a wonderful, wonderful scholarship program and so beneficial to the citizens of Wyoming. It really makes higher education accessible for them," Nichols said.

She said her understanding of the intent of the program is to help students get the type of education that they are best suited for to make them employable.

She said there are some challenges if students leap into an area they are not ready for that can be a disadvantage.

"In general, allowing kids to go to school where they best fit, and getting degrees so they are workforce ready is a very, important thing," Nichols said.

UW SIGNING DAY

Nichols said earlier this month she was able to visit 12 of the 80 high schools that hosted UW Signing Day events. "They're really a lot of fun. They're uplifting events. It's a time to celebrate our high school seniors who are graduating and who have plans to go on to college. I really think it's important to do that from a holistic academic topic and not just do it for athletes. I love the fact that we've expanded it. It's so much to fun to go out and welcome them."