Faculty and staff at the University of Wyoming will receive pay raises of at least $1,400. That comes after the Wyoming Legislature approved raises for all state employees during the 2026 budget session.
The university’s portion of that statewide allocation is about $13.85 million a year, according to a UW news release announcing the raises.
“We appreciate the support of the governor, lawmakers and the trustees for this increase, which attempts to address cost-of-living and market concerns while providing flexibility to direct dollars to where they’re needed most,” UW President Ed Seidel said in the release. “We know it won’t fully address compensation issues across the university, but it’s a significant step for us.”
The university’s overall funding was threatened during the recent legislative session, as lawmakers aligned with the state Freedom Caucus sought to strip almost $61 million from its requested funds. In a complete reversal, UW ended up receiving the full $61 million, which also included several requests for new funding.
The final state budget also included the state employee pay raises that had been requested by Gov. Mark Gordon in his initial recommended budget. UW is a state university and its employees fall under that umbrella.
The UW Board of Trustees approved the state-backed raises during a meeting Friday in Laramie.
UW has more than 3,000 benefited employees, but some won’t be receiving the $1,400 pay bump. When it comes to staff, only those making below $200,000 a year are eligible.
In addition to the standard raises, roughly $5.6 million dollars will be spent across campus giving additional increases to both faculty and staff. Those will include merit-based raises, as well as raises meant to bring all employees up to at least 65% of the standard, national market rate for their position.
“All staff raise plans will be reviewed by the associate vice president for human resources,” the news release states. “Plans for faculty will be reviewed and approved by the provost and associate vice president for human resources.”
The raises take effect this summer.
