State Briefs

UW proposes spring semester schedule

LARAMIE (WNE) — The University of Wyoming’s proposed spring 2021 semester would include ten weeks of in-person instruction, a three-day spring break and five weeks of fully online classes to conclude the term, under a draft plan being presented Wednesday to UW’s Board of Trustees.

The semester would begin with two days of online-only instruction Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22, and face-to-face classes would begin Monday, Jan. 25. Following the abbreviated March 31-April 4 spring break, all classes would move to online delivery, with the final day of classes May 6 and finals week May 10-14.

The draft plan represents the university’s best effort to deliver as much of an exceptional on-campus experience as possible amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Trustees was scheduled to discuss the proposal during Thursday’s regular teleconference meeting and then vote on the plan during a special meeting Wednesday, Dec. 16.

“While we anticipate that the spring semester will look very much like Phases 3 and 4 of the fall semester, it is uncertain when the current statewide surge in COVID-19 cases will subside and what will be the impact of the holiday season,” UW President Ed Seidel said. “So, even as we bring this to the board with the intention of moving forward with a semester that includes on-campus experiences for students, we will continue to work with and follow guidance from our partners at the Wyoming Department of Health and Albany County Public Health.”

League of Women Voters honors Army Guard general

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Retired Brigadier General Kathy Wright has devoted her life to promoting the ideals of a democratic society, as both the first female general officer to serve in the Wyoming Army National Guard and a longtime organizer for Wyoming Girls State.

Wright’s lifetime of service to the people of Wyoming earned her the League of Women Voters of Wyoming’s 2019 Making Democracy Work Award, which the league presented to her during a virtual ceremony Thursday evening – on Wyoming Women’s Suffrage Day.

Although the LWV had planned to honor Wright at a big in-person ceremony earlier this year, it, like so many other events, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Her leadership – that ability to influence – and the timing of her natural career progression placed her front and center to pave the way to achieve a number of female firsts in the organization,” said Gayle Baugh, retired command sergeant major for the Army Guard, who first met Wright in the mid-1980s. “Very noticeable to me was her professional competence to change and improve the organization’s culture. To help leaders in our ranks find value in our rich diversity.”

The LWV does not award the honor annually – the last award was presented in 2017 – but rather when it identifies a Wyoming resident who has “safeguarded democracy in our community state and nation,” said Rosalind Schliske, secretary of the Cheyenne League of Women Voters.