LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - A multimillion dollar plan to add science facilities, staff and students has been presented to the University of Wyoming’s board of trustees, the Laramie Boomerang reported Monday.
Khaled Gasem, interim dean of the university’s College of Engineering, told the Laramie Boomerang (https://tinyurl.com/k7ug6yz ) the plan was presented at the board’s May meeting.
“The essential story of what we’re doing is to accelerate our contributions and be more helpful to the state,” Gasem said. “We can act as catalysts to grow economic development.”
The Legislature appropriated $8 million, and UW is expected to raise the remaining $9.2 million for the project. The School of Energy Resources is contributing about $4 million, and private donations are expected to make up the difference. Gasem said industry partnerships will also be key.
“The source of funding is burden sharing, but it’s for the common good. I’m comforted we will have the resource base,” Gasem said.
The first phase of the plan calls for six new faculty members, four research scientists and 90 undergraduate engineering scholarships to be in place by 2016. The plan also calls for almost 700,000 square feet of new science facilities, an increase in undergraduate enrollment from 1,400 to 1,800 and doubling the number of PhD graduates to 30. The entire expansion is to be completed by 2020.
Gov. Matt Mead appointed a College of Engineering Tier-1 Initiative task force two years ago. Now, the entire university has a goal of entering the prestigious bracket, starting with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The university has set its sights on being recognized by the Carnegie Foundation, which defines Tier 1 institutions as those with very high research activity. UW is currently ranked as having high research activity.
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Information from: https://www.laramieboomerang.com/
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