They bring experience; some good, some bad, but all useful. They will, if in a situation that they are comfortable, bring light to situations that may only have been previously available through observation and careful study.

Martin Luther King Jr. believed in action through non-violent means, and while that is admirable, the sad truth of the matter is that sometimes action is required. The Taliban will most likely not be “killed with kindness.”

The heroes among us are our veterans, and the University of Wyoming is one of the top campuses in the nation when it comes to veteran’s affairs. However, one thing that civilians may not understand is the toll these souls have endured, each in their own way.

For many the scars are obvious. They have faced the slings and arrows of war and were not able to come through unscathed. They have purple hearts, bronze stars and other commendations for their courage in the face of such adversity.

For so many others, the scars they bear are far less noticeable and still carry with them much weight. Often it is the scars that we can’t see that are the most painful.

As a veteran of foreign conflicts, who fortunately came through visibly unscathed, I can attest to the weight of the unseen scars.

That being said, these unseen scars are not a total detriment, quite to the contrary; they can be used to educate others who are bearing the same load and help those who interact with them to better understand how to help.

Next week, the university is sponsoring multiple events about, and related to, our servicemen and women who have faced war’s horror and returned.

The first event related to veterans is a discussion on Tuesday of the book “War and the Soul: Healing our Nation’s Veterans for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder,” by Edward Tick.

The book “explores a wide range of historical, literary and contemporary perceptions of war” and “explores the effects of wartime service on soldiers’ identities,” according to the event website.

On Friday, a panel discussion of “How and why we are different when we come back: A Veteran’s Perspective.” The discussion is by veterans, for veterans and will enable newer veterans by providing an outlet and an opportunity to talk with an older generation of veterans about how they’ve dealt with their own demons.

To all our UW veterans, past, present and future, thank you. For those who choose to deal with the ghosts on your own, know that there are others who can help, if you will let them.

Email:  DJ Bowman

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The Branding Iron is a Student Media project. Student Media gives University of Wyoming students valuable experience in writing, editing, advertising, sales, graphic design, photography and production through its publications with the guidance of professional staff members. If you find a mistake in an article, e-mail us at bi@uwyo.edu. We will make sure to torture the poor soul until it's corrected. Just kidding. We probably won't do anything, since we're busy studying for finals.

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Toastmasters is a group of Laramie community members that practices forming and delivering of speeches. The group meets 6:45 a.m. on Mondays in Room 106 of the Animal Sciences/Molecular Biology Building.

The group has had about 20 members involved at any time. Most Mondays, about 12 of these members attend.

As a weekly morning ritual, the toastmasters recite their mission statement, “The mission of a toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment, in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in form foster self-confidence and personal growth.”

Following this mission statement, every member starts with a manual that includes 10 speech projects. Each week, two to three speeches are given by members of the group.

Each speech is rated by an audience evaluator.

The last part of each meeting is called “Table Topics,” which is a portion of the meeting when a member will pose a random question to another member. After the question is asked, two to three minutes are allowed for an answer.

Table Topics functions to improve an individual’s impromptu speaking abilities.

“Individuals have their own goals. At the completion of the first 10 manual speeches, a member is awarded the title of Competent Communicator. From there, he can pursue advanced manuals or prepare speeches on whatever he chooses,” Susan Mavrich, one of the Laramie morning toastmasters, said.

Even if a member is not giving a prepared speech on a given week, other duties are given. A different member is assigned to be the toastmaster, timer, main speaker, evaluator or the questioner for Table Topics.

“The Toastmaster for the week officiates the meeting, introduces the speakers, makes sure all the duties are fulfilled [and] ensures that the meeting runs in a timely manner,” Mavrich said.

The group is available to the public. “Laramie Morning Toastmasters is a diverse group. They may be university professors, university students …, or regular townspeople with non-university jobs. Members may be professionals or blue-collar workers. We have members that have been toastmasters for over 25 years, just because they love it. We have members who join for a short time to get a boost to their careers. There is a great mix of ages and vocations in our group,” Mavrich said.

Email the author: dbonner1@uwyo.edu

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The Branding Iron is a Student Media project. Student Media gives University of Wyoming students valuable experience in writing, editing, advertising, sales, graphic design, photography and production through its publications with the guidance of professional staff members. If you find a mistake in an article, e-mail us at bi@uwyo.edu. We will make sure to torture the poor soul until it's corrected. Just kidding. We probably won't do anything, since we're busy studying for finals.

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The award is given to a president who exemplifies leadership to create a campus environment where learning and campus life are not undermined by the misuse of alcohol, according to Outside the Classroom and United Educators.

“The award is managed by Outside the Classroom and United Educators. They are passionate about harm reduction and alcohol awareness so we can maximize the success of students nationally,” Sara Axelson, vice president of student affairs, said.

Nominators were asked to talk about how societal conditions drive alcohol use and the magnitude of the alcohol-related problems in universities.

Buchanan cited in his acceptance speech that, at UW, these examples are easy to find because 25 percent of students in Wyoming have reported drinking before the age of 13 and 72 percent of arrests and citations from the UW Police Department involve alcohol.

“Across the nation, college and university presidents have to face the fact that young people coming to the university are already experienced with alcohol,” he said.

Nominators were also asked to talk about how their president has taken an active stand on alcohol and made prevention of its misuse a priority for their institution, as well as created new initiatives to change student norms away from alcohol use.

“President Buchanan’s commitment to addressing alcohol issues and success in decreasing both alcohol use and its adverse effects are models for the entire higher education community,” Janice Abraham, CEO of United Educators, said in a press release.

Buchanan has implemented alternative late night programs for students, mandatory online alcohol education and AWARE, which is a nationally recognized alcohol education and intervention program.

He is also the leader of the A-Team, a coalition of campus and community members to change campus, local and state laws and policies surrounding alcohol.

According to a press release from Outside the Classroom and United Educators, from 2007 to 2009, student binge drinking dropped by 24 percent, in part because of Buchanan’s work.

There was also a 29 percent decrease in students reporting alcohol interfering with academics and a 40 percent decrease in drunk driving, according to the release.

“It’s really very rare for you to see something like what is happening here at the University of Wyoming,” Brandon Busteed, founder and CEO of Outside the Classroom, said.

“You have not only many staff across the university start to get involved in a very important way, but you also see a very committed and dedicated university president who doesn’t just talk the talk but is a very on-the-point leader in espousing his belief that this is an important issue to address,” he said.

“The kind words are humbling, but this is an award for the university. It is not an award for me, and it is an award for the hard work of our faculty, our staff and of our students,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan was given $20,000 for the university, which he dedicated for use by the AWARE program.

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The Branding Iron is a Student Media project. Student Media gives University of Wyoming students valuable experience in writing, editing, advertising, sales, graphic design, photography and production through its publications with the guidance of professional staff members. If you find a mistake in an article, e-mail us at bi@uwyo.edu. We will make sure to torture the poor soul until it's corrected. Just kidding. We probably won't do anything, since we're busy studying for finals.

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A year and a half after cutting $18.3 million dollars from its budget, UW sees strong financial times on the horizon.

The first sign of a positive trend is that its plan to implement the budget cuts in three years has already been completed in half the time, with no additional cuts.

“It is good news, because it means we got through all the actions that had to be implemented more than a full year ahead of the budget plan,” Doug Vinzant, vice president for administration, said.

Gov. Freudenthal’s full endorsement of UW’s supplemental budget request, except for one item, has also attributed to the positive outlook of the school’s administration.

“On the horizon, the university is stabilized,” Vinzant said.

Items on the request include increased spending for libraries, equipment for the new BioSaftey Laboratory 3 lab and planned renovation of the existing fine arts facility.

Freudenthal is recommending directing $50 million from Abandoned Mine Land funds for the construction of a new science, technology, and engineering mathematics buildings, in combination of additional support for other science and energy related programs. 

“All of those things point to the university not just stabilizing, but taking a step forward; if all those recommendations are enacted by the legislature,” Vinzant said. “That is pretty remarkable [to go] from a year and a half ago to were we are right now.”

Freudenthal has also recommended compensation adjustment, or a salary program for state employees to make up for actions taken during the budget reductions, which would affect UW employees.

All actions still must be passed by the Wyoming legislature in their upcoming session next year.

The reason for the improvement in the revenue picture for the university comes from the estimation-exceeding revenue increase for the state.

Vinzant also said that a reason for UW’s strong recovery stems from strong support that Freudenthal has given to the university. Which included his work to strengthen academics programs, specifically energy related programs. 

Looking towards the future, Vinzant said that the university has every reason to believe that governor-elect Matt Mead is going to be supportive of the university as well.

“We are going to work with him and do our best to make sure that he is aware of what our needs are,” Vinzant said. “We are looking forward to working for him.”

He said no actions taken from the budget reductions have had any unexpected consequences for the university.

“I don’t think that there is anything out of the list of actions, that were put into place, where the consequences, or impacts, were fundamentally different from what was anticipated,” Vinzant said. “But when you have to make reductions of that magnitude, it does have adverse impacts. But that set of actions was very thoughtfully, and very deliberately, crafted to minimize the impact.”

Vinzant said that the budget cuts of 2009 are permanent.  

“As difficult as budget reductions are, I will also say it’s a situation where they force you to think very carefully about institutional priorities, and to examine things very carefully, and that was done here very thoughtfully and in a very deliberate manner,” he said.

Email: Max D’Onofrio 

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Over the past several years, the economic recession has created hard times for everyone, but despite the concerns, the University of Wyoming’s Foundation has stayed strong in the numbers of donations it has received.

Through the generosity of alumni, corporations, friends of the university, and other foundations, UW’s Foundation over the past few years has been able to continually receive a little more than $30 million on average per year in private support.

Appointed by the University Board of Trustees to raise, receive and manage private gifts to maximize support for UW, the Foundation’s average yearly donations have exceeded any previous period.

The money, which supports the university’s infrastructure, students, faculty positions and many other programs, is a vast improvement from a decade ago when the Foundation was averaging only $10 million dollars per year.

“Private giving has escalated dramatically at the university over the past decade,”

Ben Blalock, president of the Foundation, said, “The University of Wyoming has remained strong in the hearts and minds of our alumni and friends.”

Though the economic downturn has had an effect on the fundraising effort, the dollar totals have remained much stronger over the last few years than estimated.

Blalock believes a major reason for this steady level of donations is due to the fortunate position of the school—in a state where the economy has remained reasonably strong.

With the average number of donors to the school numbering around 24,000 annually, the university is always striving for continuous improvement despite its surprising stability.

An independent, nonprofit corporation with a Board of Directors comprised of 36 members that has been part of the university for more than 48 years, the Foundation fits a specific niche that helps fund many specific projects on campus.

“Donors tell us how they want their dollars to be designated and then we send those dollars over to the University of Wyoming so they end up in the hands of students and support faculty positions, and other programs,” Blalock said.

The contributions of the Foundation to the university’s overall budget are a single digit percentage, but Blalock believes that the foundation contributes to a margin of excellence at UW. 

“When it comes to extra dollars to strengthen faculty positions, to do more in facilities, when it comes to strengthening scholarships funds, many times those extra dollars come through private gifts,” Blalock said.

The Foundation also invests the private assets short-term so they can be spent when the need is there for the university, or depending on how the donor has designated them. 

of a bank for the University of Wyoming. We receive gifts, we invest those dollars, we account for the dollars, we follow up with donors so they have a record how their dollars are being used,” Blalock said.

Other dollars are for endowment purposes, which are invested in a long-term investment strategy so they can grow.

The foundation also has many fundraising programs that are aimed toward alumni and corporations in an effort to seek their contributions.

Work is also done with other foundations that are set up to make contributions that are for philanthropic, potentially to UW.

According to Blalock, the larger gifts come through personal meetings that the foundation has with companies and individuals; from talking to them about making a difference at UW, and provide them the opportunity to direct dollars to the university from proposals the foundation creates.

The Foundation is also response to the donors’ potential interests. 

“The major giving conversations is very much a key part of what we do here,” Blalock said.

And as the university shows more success in all areas of academics, research, and athletics, the more donors and dollars it draws in.

Individuals see the momentum at the university and are more likely to want to donate to keep it going, Blalock said.

Email: Max D’Onofrio 

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The article, “Plasticity of animal genome architecture unmasked by rapid evolution of pelagic tunicate,” discussed the group’s recent work, which achieved the successful sequencing of the entire genome sequence of a kind of tunicate known as Oikopleura dioca.

The successful sequencing of the Oikopleura dioca is important because of the evolutionary turnover of duplicate genes within the organism. Tunicates are a group of underwater saclike filter feeders that are found mostly on the ocean floor.

“Gene duplication is a fundamental process enabling the evolution of new molecular functions, as species diverge in evolution, and potentially also as cancer cells evolve. Understanding the dynamics of, and constraints on, duplicate genes is important to understanding functional differences between genomes,” David Liberles, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, said.  

The research on the Oikopleura dioca gene sequence coincided with ongoing work in the Statistics Department by associate professor in the department, Snehalata Huzurbazar’s, who was seeking ways to improve models for gene duplicates.

Ph.D. students Anke Konrad, molecular biology, and Sarabdeep Singh, statistics student, were two other contributors to the research, according to a UW news release. Liberles said that he and his colleagues have been working on this specific area of research for a number of years. 

“Research in my group characterizing the fates of duplicated genes began in 2003 with the work of former postdoctoral researcher Nick Braun, and has continued with two graduated Ph.D. students, Shruti Rastogi and Tim Hughes,” he said. “The modeling framework used in the study began with a paper published with Tim Hughes in Journal of Molecular Evolution in 2007.”

Liberles also said other groups at University of Wyoming involved in genome sequencing projects include Alex Buerkle [in botany] on a pine species and Naomi Ward [in molecular biology], who has been involved in multiple bacterial genome sequencing projects.”

Liberles’ involvement with Daniel Chourrout (of University of Bergen, Norway) was his first venture into a large scale-sequencing project. 

“We have recently become involved with Webb Miller [of Penn State University] on another large scale sequencing project to characterize gene duplication comparatively in primate species,” he added.

The genome sequencing project was an international collaborative effort involving research groups in Europe, Canada, Japan, the Universities of Wyoming, Iowa and Oregon and the National Institutes of Health.

Email: Bob Kubichek 

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Across the world there is an effort to create a cleaner and friendlier environment, and UW is doing its part.

Over the last decade and with the help of staff, faculty and students, a strong effort has been made to become an environmentally sustainable campus. 

The biggest efforts from the university have come from the formation of the Campus Sustainability Committee and the Climate Action Plan from university president Tom Buchanan, which details the goals of the university towards being an environmentally sustainable campus.

“I think we are making great progress in advancing sustainability at the campus,” Jill Lovato, Co-Chair of the Campus Sustainability Committee, said.

Through these efforts, the university has maintained sustainability through energy efficiency in its buildings, with additions including more efficient windows, transportation, manage and growing a recycling program, and sustainability education and awareness.

The Campus Sustainability Committee has also hosted events to make sure that the university is always engaged in sustainability. 

This has included participating in RecycleMania 2010, a contest to measure the amount of trash and recycled materials collected at more than 600 schools nationwide to determine which participants had the highest recycling rate. UW placed in the top 30 percent of schools participating. 

In total, participating colleges collected more than 84 million pounds of materials during the 10-week competition.

The committee also hosted the Wyoming Sustainability Summit 2010, a statewide conference intended to provide a forum for local leaders and interested citizens to learn about environmental, social and economic sustainability. 

The summit provided a venue for sharing information about challenges and successes with sustainability initiatives and how to successfully address these issues in residences, businesses and communities. 

In other efforts to promote sustainability, in 2007, UW became a charter member of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, with Buchanan charging the Campus Sustainability Committee with administering the commitment’s requirements.

As part of the commitment, UW completed the Climate Action Plan, which guides the institution in achieving its sustainability goals. It is intended to be a living document and will be updated periodically as new technology becomes available or budget opportunities change.

The Climate Action Plan states, “As the only four-year institution of higher learning in the state, UW has a responsibility to provide high-quality opportunities for academic learning, teaching and research about sustainability, climate policy, climate science, and energy.”

It is clear from the plan that the university is not just dedicated to creating an environmentally friendly campus, but helping to contribute through education and research to create a sustainable world. 

In general, the first part of the plan focuses on education and reductions in energy use through behavioral change and facility upgrades, evaluation of alternatives, and limited implementation of promising initiatives. 

With its many construction projects on campus, UW has dedicated itself to sustainable efforts by requiring that all new construction and major renovations strive to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver standards.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s website.  

This includes energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to the impacts on those resources.

Currently, under the assessments as stated, the College of Business is at a higher standard than required by UW; at Gold standard. The new Kendall House has been expanded and remodeled to pursue silver certification.

According to Roger Baalman, the Facilities Planning Director and University Architect, the university was reaching for LEED certification before the university’s requirements, and is now looking for at potentially following LEED certification for existing buildings and maintenance. 

Lovato said that the university cannot help the sustainability of the campus fully without the help of the students, faculty and staff.

“Everybody has a part to play,” Lovato said, “Everyone should be involved.”

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In the last few years, the UW campus has seen the completion of the Anthropology Building, indoor practice facility, Wildcatter Stadium Club & Suites, Information Library and Learning Center, College of Business Building, Information Technology Facility, Student Health and International Center, Bim Kendall House and the UW Police facility.

The extensive list of completed projects does not even include the many renovations that have been made to the buildings on campus.

All projects are lead in part by the Capital Facilities Plan, whose purpose is to guide future decisions regarding construction adaptation and/or renewal of university facilities and grounds in support of the university mission.

The CFP planning process seeks to match physical infrastructure needs with the available resources to successfully meet university goals.

The most recent renovation began for the $25 million biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory within the State Veterinary Laboratory.

Recent demolition to buildings around campus has also taken place, including the old Albertson’s on South 15th Street, which has been turned into additional parking for the South Shuttle Lot, as well as the demolition of the Summit View Apartments. 

Currently, the university is still seeing plenty of renovations and construction of buildings around campus that will ensure construction projects into the next year, according to the Facilities Planning office.

The most recent project to move forward into a construction phase is the Energy Resources Center, located between 10th and 11th Streets on the south side of Lewis Street. 

The ground breaking of the $25.4 million ERC, which will serve as the permanent home for the School of Energy Resources and the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, drew Gov. Dave Fruedenthal and Buchanan to speak about the importance of the facility for the future of UW.

The new Visual Arts Center, which also began construction this fall, on 22nd Street and Willett Drive, near the Centennial Complex, is already scheduled for completion within one year. 

Soon, students will be able to see the steel framework and masonry that will create the outer structure of the facility. 

The Visual Arts Center will have a similar design and look of the other stone buildings on campus to continue the theme.

The next major building project to be finished at UW is the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center.

Faculty is scheduled to move into the building in December, and it is set to be open for classes in the spring semester. 

The remaining construction includes the all the floors, punch list work, and cleaning and commissioning, along with some exterior work. 

Though the Conservation Center is on schedule, some of the projects on campus have experienced setbacks such as the addition to the UW Indoor Tennis Facility, which collapsed during high winds last month. The damaged materials are now being removed as workers continue to repair the foundation. 

The building is now scheduled for completion Feb. 15, 2011.

Email the author: mdonofri@uwyo.edu 

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“This is a good day: a good day for the School of Energy Resources, a good day for the University of Wyoming, a good day for the energy industry and a good day for the state of Wyoming,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who was one of six speakers during the morning ceremony, said. “This building will be an important addition to the campus, but the real significance is what will take place inside the walls.”

The ERC will  have  about 30,000-square-feet of space, highlighted by 12,000-square-feet of rapidly reconfigurable laboratory space.

“This building will provide a meaningful and adequate facility for the type of enhanced research that is necessary to sustain and ensure the long-term viability of the energy industry in Wyoming,” Ron Harper, chairman of the SER’s Energy Resources Council, said.

The facility will contain a collaboratorium, a classroom/auditorium and a 3D visualization research facility.

The 3D visualization facility will allow researchers to collect data and allow them to literally to walk through their data while wearing glasses when they enter the room, Mary Byrnes, associate director for Energy Outreach in the School of Energy Research, said.

“If individuals don’t have the ability to communicate language-wise with each other, they can certainly do it through the data by sensing the data visually,” she said.

The facility will have a strong dedication to alternative energy research along with its other duties.

“The construction of the Energy Resources Center will open a new chapter in the excellence of teaching and research of energy-related sciences at the University of Wyoming,” UW president Tom Buchanan said. 

“But as important as this facility will be to those efforts, the greater celebration is about the extraordinary partnership that has emerged between the state, industry leaders and the university to extend the vitality of Wyoming’s energy economy and develop renewable energy alternatives,” he said. 

The ERC was funded through private donations and state matching funds.

Encana Oil & Gas USA provided the largest private donation toward construction of the ERC: a $5 million commitment in 2007 that was matched by the state.

Construction of the ERC will begin this spring with completion expected in summer 2012, according to the release.

“The Energy Resources Center will be a tremendous asset to the university and to our state, and we are thankful that our industry partners share this vision,” SER director Mark Northam said.

“I am excited by the prospect of delivering a state-of-the-art research and collaboration center for the university and energy stakeholders throughout Wyoming.”

Email the author: mdonofri@uwyo.edu 

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is more than just a way to keep up with friends. 

RSOs, UW offices and many other groups on campus are taking advantage of it and other social media sights to broaden their audiences.

Friday Night Fever is one of the RSOs on campus that uses Facebook as a way to expand their fan base. “We started our Facebook page a little over a year ago but only more recently have we started using Facebook ads,” Dillon Bennett of FNF said. 

“A lot of the advertising goes into actual ads on Facebook. We try to increase our friend numbers. After someone ‘likes’ us it becomes about the postings,” Bennett said. 

With the postings, FNF tries to post as much media about upcoming events as possible. Recently, FNF has been taking pictures and videos from past events to get students interested in similar events coming up. 

Since FNF has started buying ad space on Facebook, they have seen a definite increase in ‘likes’ on their page. FNF also uses WyoWeb to connect with students about events. 

“With WyoWeb we send out press releases a couple of weeks before hand so they appear in the calendar,” Bennett said. That way on the day of the event, when a student logs into WyoWeb, it is one of the first things they see.

Another part of campus using social media is the Admissions Office. Involved in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Skype, the Admissions Office connects to a number of new and prospective students across the globe. 

“I can’t think of a college I work with that doesn’t have a Facebook account, that includes this university and all of the U.S.” Associate Director of Admission Pepper Jo Six said. 

Having the different forums has really made a difference. The UW Facebook page has close to 1,300 fans and receives around a post per day regarding questions about transcripts or other topics. 

“It’s a nice, safe forum for students,” Six said. 

“We find that Facebook is a great way for perspective students to learn about the university. They might not pick up the phone and call, but if they’re already on Facebook they might just send a quick message,” Mary Aguayo Assistant Director of Admissions said. 

Members of Admissions, as well as students, work to keep the page updated and posts answered in a timely manner. 

The Facebook page has been around for about two years and has been very successful. The Twitter and YouTube accounts have not been utilized as much, but they are both emerging social media from the school, Aguayo said.

Many colleges inside UW also have Facebook pages including Arts and Sciences, Business and Engineering.

“Clearly people are fining these to be beneficial,” said Aguayo.

Email: Lauren Kottenstette 

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