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CWC Trustees Approved Optional Mill; New Ag Program

May 24, 2022

CWC Trustees Approved Optional Mill; New Ag Program

The Central Wyoming College Board of Trustees last week approved an optional one mill for the college budget, as allowed by law, for a total levy of five mills. The additional optional one mill, according to Vice President of Administrative Services Willie Noseep, “is expected to generate about $870,834 each year for both FY23 and FY24. He noted the Board has utilized the optional one mill for the past thirty-two years, and all seven community colleges in the state levy the optional mill, he wrote in a memo to the Trustees. “The optional mill can be utilized for regular college operations, but has primarily been used for one-time needs, such as equipment and other one-time purchases, planning and consulting contracts, utility increases, emergencies, and local budget reserves.”

Noseep said the optional one mill is the only source of funding that, by statute, is totally under the control of the local elected governing board and which is not subject to the state distribution model. “In a time of tight budgets, the optional one mill helps even out college funding and gives the board the ability to respond to emergencies, because the optional mill revenue can be carried over from year to year,” he said.

Noseep also presented the college’s preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year at $44,018,885. The budget will be approved at the next Trustees meeting in June.

Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Coralina Daly proposed the trustees set aside $1,034,000 from the new budget to be used for CWC’s scholarship package. All that funding, according to a memorandum to President Dr. Brad Tyndall, will be used to support students in covering the costs of attending the college.

CWC’s BOCHES Program Director Mathew Johnson said this past year was an historic one for the program as six students, two from Hot Springs County High School, two from Riverton High School, one from Lander Valley High School and one home school student, all received Associate Degrees before graduating from high school. He said the most previously graduated while still in high school was two students. In fact, he said one student this year earned enough credits for two Associate Degrees.

One other major action during the meeting was the approval of a proposed new program: Regenerative Small-Scale Farming AAS. Dr. Kathy Wells, CWC’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the new course was requested by students in the college’s first cohort of Beginning Farmer students who wanted an additional degree option “that bridged the gap between that program and an associate degree that focused specifically on regenerative small scape and diversified farming.”

This degree will prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to operate a small, diversified fruit and vegetable farm business and/or to be employed in a variety of positions focusing on soil health, horticulture and food security. ”

President Dr. Brad Tyndall

Wells, in a memo to Dr. Tyndall, wrote “This degree will prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to operate a small, diversified fruit and vegetable farm business and/or to be employed in a variety of positions focusing on soil health, horticulture and food security.” Program graduates could continue their education in CWC’s Bachelor of Applied Science Program.

The Wyoming Community College Commission must approve the request before the program can be offered, which is anticipated to be this fall.

Other highlights included:

Zariah June, the Aldinger Fellow for 2021-2022, was awarded the Rising Leader award at the American Indians in Science and Engineering Society Leadership Summit in Pechanga, California April 12, 2022. Zariah represented CWC along with former graduates Albert Mason and Royal Wells along with other University of Wyoming students. CWC’s Dr. Tarissa Spoonhunter attended as well.
On Wednesday, June 8 at 7 p.m., , Egypt Excursion: Wyoming Climbers Explore the Sinai Mountains will premiere on CWC based-WyomingPBS. Writer Mark Jenkins embarks on an expedition with fellow Wyoming climbers to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in search of unclimbed rock walls. While exploring the rugged mountains, they also find a connection with the Bedouin people who call the land home.

WyomingPBS will also host a concert that will be taped for television with award winning Nashville recording artist Skip Ewing and Horsepower 307. The free event will be held at the Robert A. Peck Arts Center on campus June 18 at 7 p.m.

Shared from WYO Today Media