UW Receives Strong Support in 2023 Legislative Session

As a result of action by the Wyoming State Legislature, the University of Wyoming will receive $120 million to complete long-planned construction projects, and many UW employees will receive pay raises. As part of the supplemental budget approved during the general session, several initiatives at the heart of UW’s land-grant mission will also receive additional one-time and ongoing funding. UW President Ed Seidel said the supplemental budget and capital construction bills will make it possible to advance some key initiatives; bring more of their employee salaries and wages closer to market averages; anc complete major construction projects that have been impacted by inflationary pressures.

The supplemental budget includes an annual increase of $12.27 million for staff and faculty raises, on top of $8 million approved during the 2022 budget session that provided the first broad-based raise for UW employees since the 2018-19 fiscal year. UW leaders have not finalized the allocation model, but increasing pay for staff, especially entry-level and positions at the low end of the pay scale, will be a top priority. This second round of raises will take effect in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Legislators and Governor Mark Gordon also supported a number of UW’s funding priorities for ongoing initiatives, including annual increases of $5.5 million for Tier-1 Engineering Initiative programming and $3.6 million for Science Initiative programming. One-time appropriations include $5 million for UW’s Advanced Research Computing Center; $2.5 million in endowment matching funds for chairs, professorships and programs in the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources; and $1.5 million in endowment matching funds for the School of Energy Resources (SER).