For those of us who write about Wyoming’s history, and others who simply like to read about the history of our state, the University of Wyoming made a great announcement this week. They will have a faculty fellowship in the UW Department of History to ensure the study of Wyoming history.
Funded by an anonymous donor and a fund match by the state of Wyoming the fellowship -- named the Phil Roberts Faculty Fellowship in Wyoming History and the West -- honors Roberts, a professor emeritus and renowned expert on the state’s history who began his position in the university’s history department in 1990.
The fund will be used to recruit and retain a scholar who will specialize in the history of Wyoming and the West.
My introduction to Phil Roberts came through his brother David L. Roberts. In September 1977, David started the Medicine Bow Post, a weekly newspaper that would report on the boom times in that area of Carbon County for several years. His tenure as the publisher at the Medicine Bow Post coincided with my tenure as editor of the Saratoga Sun.
David and I saw each other regularly at school board meetings and other public events and meetings as we covered our areas of Carbon County and the energy boom that engulfed the area including both coal mining operations and wind energy developments. And during that booming era in Carbon County, that is when I first met Phil Roberts, too.
David was a tenacious reporter who won dozens of awards from the Wyoming Press Association. He spent a short period editing at the Washington Post – when he traded jobs with the editor of that metropolitan newspaper – giving the city guy a chance to learn how challenging it could be to edit a small Wyoming newspaper.
I’d moved on from the Sun by 1989 when David and his brothers Phil and Steven published their Wyoming Almanac, but I still have my first edition copy, signed by the brothers.
When David closed the Medicine Bow Post, he moved on to other pursuits in journalism. Meantime, brother Phil, who had a law degree from the UW College of Law, and a Ph.D. in history from Washington State University, found his place in the history department of UW.
Phil Roberts’ three decades in the department defined by Wyoming’s great historian T. A. Larson, no doubt inspired many students of history. His areas of expertise include Wyoming history, the American West, and the legal, environmental, and natural resources history that has shaped the state and its people.
“Wyoming history is a critical area for the UW history department, not only for university students, but for connecting the entire state through talks, projects and student internships,” Roberts said in a release about the endowment.
“The endowment for the history department not only will continue to educate our students about the interesting history of our state, but it also will inspire them and others to explore the resources and write articles and books about our history,” Roberts said.
Roberts’s influence extends far beyond the classroom. He has lectured and presented programs throughout Wyoming, averaging about 50 presentations annually and in nearly every Wyoming county. For a number of years, he was history guide for a “History of Wyoming” on-the-road tour. His weekly column on Wyoming history, titled “Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past,” was syndicated in Wyoming newspapers off and on from 1979-2009.
“Funding a named faculty fellowship in the UW Department of History is not merely a financial decision, but a strategic investment in the intellectual and cultural fabric of our state and nation,” says Scott Turpen, UW’s interim provost. “Wyoming’s history is important history, and this fellowship named for Dr. Roberts will be its champion. The gift reminds us of the value the humanities and Wyoming history have for our great state.”
As someone who loves and writes about Wyoming history, I’m thrilled about the university and the state’s commitment to the study of our past.
The Phil Roberts Faculty Fellowship in Wyoming History and the West will ensure that Roberts’s legacy continues to shape the future. The fellowship will support a faculty member dedicated to teaching and researching Wyoming history. It will allow students to explore the fascinating stories of the state and the West for generations to come.
Candy Moulton can be reached at Candy.L.Moulton@gmail.com
