In the discussion over a proposed annual reduction of $20 million to the block grant the University of Wyoming receives from state government, assertions have been made that the cut is necessary because UW has strayed from its founding purpose as a land-grant university.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, Wyoming’s land-grant university remains absolutely true to the federal Morrill Act of 1862 and its later iterations, as well as the founding principles in the state statute adopted in the state’s first legislative session in 1890 and in the Wyoming Constitution.
The Morrill Act called for the creation of public universities to “promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life,” specifically emphasizing “agriculture and the mechanic arts” but not excluding “other scientific and classical studies.”
Over the years, the land-grant mission has grown to also encompass research and service to the state, activities UW undertakes with a great sense of responsibility.
Wyoming’s founders added to the Morrill Act language with a more detailed mandate in state statute. Because it’s so important, I’m quoting it extensively here:
“The objects of the university are to provide an efficient means of imparting to men and women, without regard to color, on equal terms, a liberal education, together with a thorough knowledge of the various branches connected with the scientific, industrial and professional pursuits.
"To this end it shall embrace colleges or departments of letters, of science and of the arts together with such professional or other departments as in course of time may be connected therewith.
"The department of letters shall embrace a liberal course of instruction in language, literature and philosophy, together with such courses or parts of courses in the college or department of science as are deemed necessary.
“The college, or department of science, shall embrace courses of instruction in the mathematical, physical and natural sciences, together with such courses in language, literature and philosophy as shall constitute a liberal education.
"The college or department of the arts shall embrace courses of instruction in the practical and fine arts and especially in the applications of science to the arts of mining and metallurgy, mechanics, engineering, architecture, agriculture and commerce, together with instruction in military tactics, and in such branches in the department of letters, as are necessary to a proper fitness of students for their chosen pursuits, and as soon as the income of the university will allow, in such order as the wants of the public shall seem to require, the courses in the sciences and their practical applications shall be expanded into full and distinct schools or departments.”
This direction from Wyoming’s founders has guided UW’s development over the decades, and it’s reflected in the university’s structure and offerings today.
While continuing to emphasize agriculture and engineering, UW leaders have, in fact, added academic colleges and degree programs to meet the demands of all Wyoming industries, as well as to prepare students “for their chosen pursuits.”
We now offer degrees in over 200 areas of study, producing teachers, nurses, engineers, accountants, natural resource managers, lawyers, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs and many others who fill important roles in Wyoming’s workforce and economy.
Because UW’s resources are limited, we recognize the importance of prioritizing.
Even as we add degree programs and certificates to meet the needs of students and employers, the university constantly is assessing its offerings to determine what we should modify, continue or drop. We have shed low-enrollment programs that don’t align with the state’s needs, and we will continue to do so.
The problem with the $20 million annual cut proposed by the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee is that it would force us to drop programs that do fill the needs and wants of students and the state.
And it would make it much more difficult to adhere to the Wyoming Constitution’s direction that a UW education be “as nearly free as possible.”
There is reason to believe that the assertion that UW has strayed from its founding purpose as a land-grant university primarily has to do with some of what is taught under the broad umbrella created by the Morrill Act and state statute, as well as some of the non-academic programs and services the university has provided to students and employees.
On that front, UW has shown a willingness to comply with legislative directives, most recently in the elimination of the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion -- and in excising DEI concepts and advocacy from instruction, a process that is ongoing.
While state statute gives UW’s Board of Trustees the responsibility to “prescribe the studies to be pursued and the textbooks to be used” at the university, UW’s leaders are always willing to engage in discussions with the state’s policymakers about the university’s offerings -- and follow established processes to make appropriate changes.
The Legislature and the state’s elected officials represent the people of Wyoming, and appropriations from the Legislature and the governor are what make it possible to have a world-class land-grant and flagship university, as envisioned by the state’s founders.
It would be a terrible shame if misunderstandings regarding what being a land-grant university really means end up being the cause of unnecessary cuts that severely harm UW’s ability to fulfill its land-grant mission.
We hope the full Legislature will recognize that potential harm and, instead, work with the university to make desired adjustments -- as lawmakers and UW leaders have done for well over a century.
Kermit Brown is the chairman of the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees.
