The University of Wyoming will now have a representative on the State Board of Education. The Wyoming legislature passed a bill during its last session, granting the University of Wyoming president the power to appoint a nonvoting member to the State Board of Education. The first to serve in this new role is College of Education Dean Ray Reutzel.
The board works closely with the Wyoming Department of Education to set standards and shape policies. Superintendent Jillian Balow said this degree of collaboration is unprecedented. “I don’t know that higher education and K-12 have ever been as closely connected as we are right now.”
Balow said she anticipates the increased cooperation will have positive outcomes. “To have higher ed at the table, and in particular Dean Reutzel, is helpful in helping to just move a policy agenda forward that’s beneficial to all of us.”
Dean Reutzel’s appointment will bridge conversations at the K-12 level about improving college readiness, and at the university level about increasing enrollment. He will begin his term on July 1.
