Elevations – UW College of Arts and Sciences – Fall 2024

FALL 2024

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

Grant Awarded to English Department Inspires

Storytelling Across Wyoming

Psychology Department Expands Access to Care Throughout the State Students Flourish at the Neltje Center Anthropology and Archaeology Professors Make Groundbreaking Discoveries

The College of Arts & Sciences offers a distinct and well-rounded education in Fine Arts, the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Programs. Whether you're interested in pursuing a degree in A&S or looking for ways to unlock your creativity, nationally-ranked degree programs and courses with A&S provide an opportunity to gain valuable education and skills. Our programs involve work in the creative fields, using data, learning new languages, understanding the world around you, and much more.

Courses, programs and degrees offered in:

The Neltje CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN CREATIVITY AND THE ARTS FINE ARTS

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Music Theatre and Dance Visual Arts

Anthropology Communication and Journalism Criminal Justice and Sociology Psychology

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies

Humanities English Modern and Classical Languages Philosophy and Religious Studies History

INTRODUCING TWO NEW PROGRAMS! 7 English Ph.D. in Public Humanities 7 Bachelor's degree in European Languages, Literature, and Film Studies

Discover Our Departments Degree Programs and Courses! uwyo.edu/as

CONTENTS

FEATURES 8 • Voices of Wyoming The UW English Department is launching the project “Re-Storying the West” and a new Ph.D. in Public Humanities at the start of the fall 2024 semester.

22

12 • Discovering Beauty UW Professors Rob Colter and Harvey Hix host a workshop for students on “The Philosophy of Beauty” at the Neltje Center, located near the Bighorns just south of Sheridan.

14 • Creating Access to Care UW Department of Psychology expands access to mental health and aging care resources across Wyoming through the Psychology Center and Wyoming Center on Aging.

17 • Taking Chances Studying abroad changed how UW communications alumna Jocelyn Petersen ’24, of Greeley, Colo., approached the world.

20 • Unveiling the Curtain of Set Design The UW Department of Theatre and Dance built a 12-square-foot pool on the stage of the Thrust Theatre for its “Metamorphoses” performance during the fall 2023 semester.

22 • Breaking New Ground UW anthropology professors’ latest research reveals a multitude of findings, ranging from unearthing the Americas’ oldest known bead in Wyoming to discovering information in the Andes that challenges the traditional hunter-gatherer narrative.

DEPARTMENTS 02 • Message from the Dean 04 • Faculty Accolades

20

26 • A&S Awards Banquet 28 • Honoring a Legacy

ON THE COVER Associate Professor of English Nancy Small takes a moment to sit in Mathison Library, located in Hoyt Hall on campus. Small spearheaded a grant that will encourage storytelling across Wyoming — a project that will tie into the new Ph.D. in Public Humanities at UW.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 1

University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences Elevations 2024 Volume 10 1000 E. University Ave, Dept. 3254 Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-4106 asdean1@uwyo.edu Dean J. Scott Turpen Associate Dean Susan Aronstein Associate Dean Carolyn Pepper Associate Dean Adrienne Freng Editor Michaela Jones All articles written by Michaela Jones unless otherwise noted.

Contributing Editor Chad Baldwin, Micaela Myers Graphic Design Michelle Eberle, Emily Edgar Photography All photos by Ted Brummond and Andrew Wee unless otherwise noted.

Elevations Magazine is published once a year for College of Arts and Sciences alumni, friends, and constituents.

Mailing addresses are provided by the University of Wyoming Foundation.

To change your mailing address and/ or contact information, please send email to foundation@uwyo.edu.

The University is committed to equal opportunity for all persons in all facets of the University’s operations. All qualified applicants for employment and educational programs, benefits, and services will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law and University policy.

FROM THE DEAN

Dear Friends of the College of Arts and Sciences: Our rapidly changing world requires creative minds and innovators to address the opportunities and challenges we face. We will need thoughtful people to interpret and apply lessons learned from new data that is being generated daily. Faculty and students at the College of Arts and Sciences, including the social sciences, humanities and arts, are keenly prepared and poised to help us move forward.

First, I want to thank you for your continued generosity and commitment to A&S. On Giving Day 2023, A&S broke records for the number of donors and total donations.

Your contributions have been instrumental in advancing our mission to foster critical thinking, creativity and the growth of knowledge among our students. Through your support, we have been able to provide scholarships, fund groundbreaking research and creative activity, and enhance our academic programs. I hope you will consider contributing to the Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund, honoring our former dean with a fund that can be used to support excellence in the college.

We are delighted to inform you about several recent achievements and developments within our college. Our faculty members have been recognized nationally and internationally for their research, publications and creative work in their disciplines.

Their work not only enhances the reputation of our college, but also makes a significant impact on society. Additionally, our students continue to excel, with many earning prestigious awards, internships and placements in top graduate programs and careers.

We are also excited about the launch of new initiatives aimed at enriching the educational experience of our students. Here you will read about our new Ph.D. in English with a focus on public humanities and the value it brings to Wyoming and the region. The Neltje Center continues to provide valuable experiential learning opportunities and creative programs throughout the year. You will also learn about the positive impact of the Psychology Center and Wyoming Center on Aging, among many other achievements. Furthermore, we are expanding our community engagement efforts, creating opportunities for our students to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts, thereby making a positive difference in our communities.

A UW education in the social sciences, humanities and the arts has never been more valuable. Employers are keen to identify these skills as essential to their enterprises. Your support remains essential. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of excellence in education and research, and with your continued partnership, we can achieve even greater heights. Together, we can empower the next generation of leaders, thinkers and creators.

Sincerely,

J. Scott Turpen Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

2023 GIVING DAY IS A HISTORIC DAY OF SUPPORT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES RECEIVED THE MOST IN BOTH TOTAL AMOUNT OF DONORS AND DOLLARS! UW Giving Day is an annual UW tradition spearheaded by the UW Foundation that raises thousands of dollars in a single day for students and programs across campus.

“Building a culture of philanthropy at UW is our ultimate goal, and I am not sure there is anything we do each year that does more to advance that cause than Giving Day,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “It continues to exceed expectations year over year. We are incredibly grateful.”

Total Donations: $285,378 Total Donors: 1,110

t h aNk you t o our 2023 support ers!

All 50 states gave to the campaign and 13 countries!

2023 A&S CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS In 2023, the College of Arts and Sciences featured a variety of campaigns that were well supported by donors.

Congratulations to the following initiatives!

Arts and Sciences The College of Arts and Sciences offers a broad education that combines cultural and disciplinary depth to ensure students gain a critical understanding of the visual and performing arts, humanities, social sciences, the world and its languages.

Many A&S departments ran successful Giving Day campaigns to support this mission. As a whole, the college received $285,378 from 1,110 alumni and friends—the most donors and dollars of any college of campus!

Western Thunder Marching Band – Hat Club The Western Thunder Marching Band is comprised of students involved in almost every academic major offered on campus. The band performs at all home football games and occasionally at away games. They also provide entertainment at other sporting contests and campus events. They raised $117,523 from 616 donors.

The Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts The Neltje Center provides a sanctuary for UW students, faculty and other creatives to unleash their imagination in one of the most scenic areas of Wyoming, near the Bighorns just south of Sheridan. The center was established in 2022, and this year was its first Giving Day campaign, raising $3,000 to create a brighter future for the arts.

A&S Visioning Fund The re-imagined College of Arts and Sciences is looking to the future and is excited about the possibilities. Part of last year’s Giving Day campaign efforts included the A&S Dean’s Visioning Fund. The fund supports faculty, student, and staff projects that aim to improve the college in many ways, including supporting research projects, travel opportunities, and experiential learning, among others. This fund received $20,349 from 43 donors.

THIS YEAR’S UW GIVING DAY WILL BE OCT. 23-24 FROM NOON TO NOON. MATCHES AND CHALLENGES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO DOUBLE THE IMPACT OR UNLOCK CHALLENGE FUNDS.

» VISIT UWYO.EDU/GIVINGDAY

FACULTY ACCOLADES

College of Arts and Sciences faculty conducted groundbreaking research, earned impressive awards and more throughout the past year.

The University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences strives to offer a broad education that matches cultural breadth and disciplinary depth to ensure students gain critical understanding of the sciences, humanities, visual and performing arts, social sciences, and the world and its languages. This mission would not be possible without the dedicated faculty within A&S. The following list is a spotlight on some, but not all, of the work accomplished by A&S faculty in 2023-24.

Anthropology Anthropology professors Allison Caine, Lauren Hayes and Randy Haas are recipients of Wenner-Gren Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowships for 2024.

The grant, which provides funds for full-time writing, is only awarded to 20 people nationally each year.

Communication and Journalism Bobby Model Photojournalism Assistant Professor Shane Epping was invited to speak at the 125th Annual Wyoming Press Association 4 • Elevations 2024

veterans who were chosen to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion by the White House. The committee met to finalize its yearly report to congress and the president.

Criminal Justice and Sociology Associate Professor Clair Uding, of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, received a grant for $649,464 from the National Institute of Justice for her research on police response to mental health crises. Her project, titled “Research and Evaluation on Policing Practices, Accountability Mechanisms and Alternatives,” aims to explore a program in Fort Collins, Colo., where both the police and mental health professionals respond to situations involving people in mental health crises.

History Associate Professor and History Department Head Jeffrey Means spent time in Washington, D.C., during the spring 2024 semester; he is one of 19

YAN ZHANG

CLAIR UDING

Convention in Casper Jan. 19.

His presentation was titled “Photojournalism: Visual Story Telling.” Three of his photos were selected for an exhibit at the Northwest College Professional Photo Contest and Exhibition in Powell, Wyo., which was on display during February and March.

Modern & Classical Languages A proposal by Senior Lecturer and Chinese Program Director Yan Zhang, of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, was selected for a 2023 U.S.-ASEAN University Connections Initiative microgrant under the U.S. Department of State’s IDEAS (Increase and Diversify

IMAGES ON THIS SPREAD ARE COURTESY PHOTOS

TRACEY OWENS PATTON

JULIA OBERT English Associate Professor of English Julia Obert has released her second book, “The Making and Unmaking of Colonial Cities: Urban Planning, Imperial Power, and the Improvisational Itineraries of the Poor,” which was published by Oxford University Press. For more information, contact her at jobert@uwyo.edu.

English Professor Tracey Owens Patton published a new book titled “A Nation’s Undesirables: Mixed-Race Children and Whiteness in the Post-Nazi Era” with the Ohio State University Press. While blending family history and scholarship, Patton’s new book synthesizes work in rhetorical postmemory studies, critical adoption studies, Afrofuturism and more to tell the story of her mother and aunt, Lore and Lilli. To learn more about her book, contact her at topatton@uwyo.edu.

by the Jazz Journalists Association as well as 2024 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.

Music

Philosophy and Religious Studies

Michael Griffith, UW’s director of orchestral activities and professor of music, completed a stay in Goiânia, Brazil. He conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica Jovem de Goiás in a program including Mozart’s Paris Symphony and the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto. He also lectured at the Federal University of Goiás, worked individually with musicians from the university and had a lengthy meeting with the secretary of innovation and technology for the state of Goiás, which funds the orchestra.

BEN MARKLEY

Education Abroad for U.S. Students) Program. This award relates to the faculty-led study-abroad program to Singapore and Malaysia that took place in summer 2024.

UW Department of Music Associate Professor Ben Markley’s new book, “Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton,” has been nominated for two awards. Published in May 2023, his book was nominated for a Best Biography/Autobiography Award

UW Associate Professor of Philosophy Bradley Rettler’s new book, “Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin,” became available on Amazon in February and was a top best-seller among philosophy books. Co-written by Andrew Bailey, associate professor and a founding faculty member at Yale-NUS College, and Craig Warmke, associate professor of philosophy at Northern Illinois University, the book begins by explaining why bitcoin was invented, UW College of Arts and Sciences • 5

MELISSA MORRIS 2024 EXTRAORDINARY MERIT AWARDS

Extraordinary Merit in Research

Extraordinary Merit in Teaching

Each year, the College of Arts and Sciences recognizes outstanding faculty with awards for extraordinary merit in the areas of research and teaching. The award encompasses all departments of the college and represents excellence for those chosen.

• Briana Doering, Anthropology • Melissa Morris, History • Nancy Small, English • Kasey Stanton, Psychology • Clair Uding, Criminal Justice and Sociology

• Adam Blackler, History • Catherine Hartmann, Philosophy and Religion • Christina McDonnell, Psychology • Valerie Pexton, English • Jamie Snyder, Criminal Justice and Sociology

Beatrice Gallatin Beuf Golden Apple Award

BRADLEY RETTLER

• Daniel Auerbach, Criminal Justice and Sociology

PHOTO BY ALI GROSSMAN

6 • Elevations 2024

how it works and where it fits among other kinds of money. For more information about the book, contact Rettler at brettler@uwyo.edu.

Psychology Assistant Professor of Psychology Kasey Stanton was awarded the Walter G. Klopfer Award from the

Society for Personality Assessment for distinguished contributions to the literature in personality assessment. Specifically, he was recognized for the best empirical paper of the year in the Journal of Personality Assessment. The title of his paper was “Focusing Narrowly on Model Fit in Factor Analysis Can Mask Construct Heterogeneity and

American Studies Professor Emeritus Eric Sandeen and retired American Studies lecturer Mary Humstone received Preserve Wyoming awards from the State Historic Preservation Office for outstanding contributions and accomplishments to the field of historic preservation.

School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies Ryan Williamson, assistant professor in the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies, recently published a book with Oxford University Press titled

Theatre and Dance

COURTESY PHOTO

Assistant Professor Scott TedmonJones received a Performing Arts Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council. Performing Arts Fellowships are $5,000 unrestricted awards of merit that are given in honor of excellence in the artist’s field. They are juried by noted professionals in the field based on appropriate media samples and artist statements. In addition to advising and mentoring students, he teaches courses in Introduction to Design, Scene Design, Period Style for the Theatre, Drafting and Scenic Painting.

KATHRYN STEVENS

School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice

“Nationalized Politics: Evaluating Electoral Politics Across Time.” This book asks, “How has nationalization influenced elections across different political eras?” and looks at variation in nationalization through an analysis of congressional elections from 1840 to 2020.

THE NELTJE CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN CREATIVITY AND THE ARTS

The Neltje Center, located just south of Sheridan, hosted a multitude of events throughout the past year. From concerts and receptions to workshops and artists in residence, the center is known as a hub of inspiration and creativity. Additionally, its team is growing: Kathryn Stevens, who is based in Sheridan, was hired as the assistant director during the spring 2024 semester. She joined the center with a background in dance, anthropology and small business administration. Stevens also brings expertise and passion for the arts, along with a commitment to fostering collaboration and accessibility within the community.

Visual Arts

RYAN WILLIAMSON

Model Misspecification: Applied Demonstrations across Sample and Assessment Types.”

Professor Ricki Klages, of the Visual Arts Department, was part of an exhibition, “Fantastische Figurationer,” at Galerie Knud Grothe, Charlottenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark, in February.

Klages also has 19 paintings on exhibit at William Havu Gallery in Denver, Colo., which were on display Jan. 26 through March 6.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 7

The story of Wyoming is often told with the help of imagery from the Old West — cowboys riding off into the sunset, vast landscapes and grand mountain ranges. While this narrative piques the interest of many visitors to the state each year, University of Wyoming Associate Professor of English Nancy Small has been on a quest to expand the state’s narrative.

To do so, UW will undertake a three-year effort to gather and archive stories of everyday Wyomingites, following the receipt of a significant grant from a prominent national foundation that supports the arts and humanities.

The Mellon Foundation has provided $850,000 to UW’s Department of English for the project, “Re-Storying the West for a Transformative Future: We Are Wyoming.” The project also supports the department’s launch of a Ph.D. program in the public humanities, which began at the start of the The UW English fall 2024 semester.

Department is launching the project “Re-Storying the West” and a new Ph.D. in Public Humanities at the start of the fall 2024 semester.

Storytelling Across the State Led by Small, who has been studying storytelling the past decade, the project will bring campus collaborators together with community partners around the state, with the ultimate goal of creating a living public archive of Wyoming stories.

Small moved to Wyoming in 2016 and noticed there is a great deal of diversity in people’s stories when it comes to their experiences.

“I’ve lived here long enough to begin to learn these things, which I think gives me the strength of not starting from scratch, but I’m still enough of an outsider where I can approach people’s stories with curiosity,” she says. “There’s a lot of diversity when it comes to experience — rural stories, urban stories and stories of people moving through Wyoming.”

The grant will allow the Department of English to provide subgrants to faculty members on campus and create graduate assistantships and internships. This team will receive training in story-gathering methods in a series of professional development sessions.

The team members will then collaborate with community organizations to conduct storygathering events and interviews in towns throughout Wyoming, enhancing relationships with the state’s community colleges, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and others.

The stories will be archived and presented on a website, through podcasts and on other platforms. Small says many people outside Wyoming view it only from the perspective of

Voices of W 8 • Elevations 2024

Associate Professor of English Nancy Small stands in Mathison Library, located in Hoyt Hall, on campus and tests her recorder she uses for interviews.

Wyoming

By Michaela Jones

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 9

PHOTOS BY KATELYN HAYWARD

Photos were part of a piece written by UW graduate student Makayla Kocher, featuring graduate student Katelyn Hayward of Pinedale. The handcrafted belt buckle (above) evokes memories of her relationship with grandfather (right), heritage and identity. Hayward’s grandfather, who has been a longtime metalsmith, helped her make the buckle when she first began learning the trade. Many more Wyomingites’ stories like Hayward’s will be made possible through the receipt of the grant from the Mellon Foundation.

narratives of the Old West and the solace of wide-open spaces, but there is much more to the state’s story.

When finding stories to tell, Small is adamant about not excluding any voices.

“Oral history tends to be about significant people and significant events,” she says. “So think governors, prominent ranchers, town leaders or business owners. If you’re looking at a community and start from that kind of top-down approach, you’re going to end up with a very exclusive narrative. What I want is radical inclusivity.”

While these trainings are open to those who wish to become better storytellers, they’re also available to groups who wish to create their own repository of stories within their own communities.

“These sessions will not just be open to those within the university, but to the broader community as well,” Small says. “Community sharing is the big spirit of all this, and we are excited about the chance to meet old stories with new stories. We look forward to engaging with a wide range of participants around Wyoming as we reflect over who and where we are, and to imagine our best futures together.”

New Ph.D. Program in Public Humanities In addition to the “Re-Storying the West” project, the Department of English is launching a Ph.D. in Public Humanities program beginning in the fall 2024 semester.

“The goal with this new degree isn’t necessarily to develop more academics,” UW College of Arts and

10 • Elevations 2024

Sciences Associate Dean Susan Aronstein says. “It’s to develop people who can work in the public humanities in nonprofit organizations, museums, as grant writers and a variety of other positions.”

Much like the “Re-Storying the West” project, public humanities is about sharing ideas from fields such as history, literature and philosophy with everyone, not just academics. It’s done through events including talks, exhibits and online projects to help people think critically and connect with culture and society.

With one of the only Ph.D. programs in public humanities in the U.S., the Department of English feels especially encouraged launching this new program due to the employability of students in its already-successful master’s degree program.

Though there are graduate certificates available at a few institutions, UW is at the cutting edge when it comes to developing this Ph.D. program and will fill an important niche when it comes to subject matter and developing skilled individuals to work in a variety of unique jobs.

“Our graduates are very employable — they’re employed on campus, across the state and beyond,” UW Department Head of English Kelly Kinney says. “In some ways, this new program is just expanding on the important work we’ve already done at the master’s level.”

Due to the support of the Mellon Foundation and UW administration, the Department of English will soon be able to hire four new faculty members. Three of those individuals will be searched for and hired in

the next year, while the fourth will be hired later as the department continues to roll out the Ph.D. program over the next several years. Their specialties will include Indigenous studies, ethnicity studies, fiction writing and professional/technical writing.

Additionally, the department will bring in graduate students who are interested in the storytelling project, as well as Ph.D. students who will be teaching classes.

“What’s really exciting is that the people who are most excited are working professionals on campus who are going to apply to enroll in the program part-time,” Kinney says. “So, in addition to full-time traditional regular Ph.D. students, I imagine that the program is going to be large in the beginning because there are so many people on campus who want to do it.”

Kinney feels optimistic that this program will bring further attention to UW and that many individuals who wish to enroll in the program likely won’t be “traditional academics.”

“This is a new way to think about graduate education,” she says.

With an increasingly limited number of jobs in academia, this program will be critical to providing students with critical credentials to fill jobs in many different fields.

When it comes to developing the curriculum for the Ph.D. in public humanities, the Department of English has several existing courses that will be implemented into the program. At the forefront of the program, however, will be a course in storytelling.

Students will also take public writing and courses that focus on writing as a public service and research for public humanities organizations, as well as a course that is currently in development on teaching professional writing in public contexts. Plus, the English department has partnered with other humanities departments across campus, so students will have interdisciplinary options, too.

Building Relationships Throughout Wyoming At the core of both the “Re-Storying the West” project and the new Ph.D. program is the significance of telling stories in a way that’s digestible for the public.

“I see storytelling as the fundamental activity humans do,” Small says. She notes that all things, even data, get fed into a narrative, and telling stories is how people make sense of things.

Ultimately, “Re-Storying the West” is less about research and more about community, Small explains.

“Just because we gather people’s stories doesn’t mean they have to give us permission to share them,” she says.

“For people who are willing to be part of the project, they’ll be seen way outside of their local communities.

The ‘why’ for me is the excitement of listening to their stories and helping them feel like appreciated members of the larger community.”

Though she doesn’t necessarily envision an “end” to this project, Small hopes to ultimately provide a fun and enjoyable way for people to consume these stories.

After spending a few years collecting these narratives throughout the state, those involved in the project will be able to develop audio tracks with photos.

“I’m picturing about 100 of these types of stories,” Small says. “And then, in about four or five years, we take

“The ‘why’ for me is the excitement of listening to their stories and helping them feel like appreciated members of the larger community.” — Nancy Small them back to the communities and host listening parties.”

These parties would be held in a variety of public spaces around the state, such as libraries, and Small’s hope is that these events would spark reflective conversations about the stories and communities in which they’ve taken place.

“I’m really excited about this grant-funded project because it will be a chance for the University of Wyoming to build relationships statewide with communities,” Small says. “And those relationships will help answer questions like, ‘What do you do with an English degree?’”

For more information about the UW Department of English, visit https://uwyo.edu/english.

To learn more about “Re-Storying the West,” contact Small at nancy.small@uwyo.edu. Those interested in the Ph.D. in Public Humanities can contact Kinney at kelly.kinney@uwyo.edu.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 11

Beauty Discovering

UW Professors Rob Colter and Harvey Hix host a workshop for students on “The Philosophy of Beauty” at the Neltje Center, located near the Bighorns just south of Sheridan.

By Michaela Jones In October 2023, two University of Wyoming professors and four students got in a Chevy Suburban and drove several hours for a four-day, three-night workshop at the Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts to do a deep dive into a single topic: the philosophy of beauty.

“You can’t prepare yourself for it,” UW senior Torin Rueter says of the Neltje Center, a sanctuary for UW students, faculty and other creatives to unleash their imagination, located near the Bighorns just south of Sheridan. “It honestly feels like you’re on a different planet.”

Rueter, who hails from Casper, graduated in the spring of 2024 and majored in psychology and philosophy with an

Harvey Hix, UW professor for the Department of Philosophy and the Creative Writing Program, and students gather around the table to share a meal during the workshop.

12 • Elevations 2024

honors minor and saw opportunity to attend this workshop as a chance to dive deeper into topics he already loved.

The Neltje Center, which was bequeathed to UW in 2021, is named after Neltje, a renowned painter and philanthropist who in 2001 founded the Jentel Artist Residency. Originally serving as Neltje’s home, the center now includes programming, educational opportunities, events and workshops at the UW campus in Laramie and in the Sheridan region.

At the beginning of the academic year, UW College of Arts and Sciences Dean Scott Turpen brought all the department heads to the Neltje Center for their annual retreat, UW Professor and Department Head of Philosophy and Religious Studies Rob Colter recalls.

“The dean was really excited for us all to see it, but admittedly, it was one of those things where I had to think, ‘Do I really want to drive three hours for an allday meeting?’” he says. “But it turned out that it really exceeded my expectations.”

After Colter experienced the Neltje Center, his mind began churning.

He then approached his colleague, Harvey Hix, UW professor for the Department of Philosophy and the Creative Writing Program, and asked if he’d like to work together on a workshop concept. Colter started thinking about how the concept of beauty in nature and the concept of beauty in art are often treated as independent topics.

“The Neltje Center really seems to blur that distinction,” he says.

Neltje was known for her big personality. Colorful art and eclectic furniture blankets nearly every square inch of the inside, and each space conveys a different theme.

The center collectively spans the length of a football

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB COLTER:

Professor Harvey Hix and students observe one of the many large-scale pieces of artwork outside the Neltje Center.

field due to numerous additions throughout the years.

Even the outside of the property is a green oasis filled with large-scale artwork and sculptures, poised to inspire creatives from all walks of life.

“You’re surrounded by mountains and nature, but also all of this beautiful art,” Rueter says. “It really gives your mind a chance to be exclusively focused on one topic.”

Each student felt inspired by the beautiful space, and creatively flowed easily; however, some were unsure what to think when they first learned about the workshop.

“I was a freshman and going on a trip with three students and two professors I’d never met,” UW philosophy major Sydney Wise of Pinedale says. “They all just seemed so wise, but in the end, I got to know some really cool people and have a lot of really fun moments.”

When thinking back on the workshop, there’s one moment in particular that really stood out to Wise.

“In my room, there was a skylight where I could see the aspen trees during the day and the stars at night,” she says.

“When I was little, I would go camping with my dad, and we would sleep on a tarp under the stars.”

Wise, who was reminded of her camping days, found peace in sleeping under the stars in complete quiet. “I wish I could do that every night,” she says.

Rueter and Wise both fondly remember playing hideand-seek and telling ghost stories with the other students at the Neltje Center.

“This was not a sponsored activity,” Colter laughs. “But it allowed them to explore and introduce themselves to the space in a way that would have been hard to replicate.”

Before going to Sheridan, Rueter didn’t look at photos of the Neltje Center because he wanted to be surprised.

For those who’ve not yet been, he recommends removing all expectations.

“Just have an open mind,” he says.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 13

By Michaela Jones Many people love living in Wyoming for a variety of reasons — there’s breathtaking natural beauty, national parks, a strong sense of community within small towns and outdoor recreation opportunities.

That said, the state can also present unique challenges for its residents.

Weather conditions can be harsh, and the winters are long. And in one of the most sparsely populated states in the U.S., isolation and lack of access to health care services can be hard for those living in rural areas.

The University of Wyoming Department of Psychology is working to address these issues and expand access in the state to mental health care through its Psychology Center for Training in Assessment, Treatment, and Clinical Research (UWPC), as well as resources for optimizing the health and well-being of Wyoming’s older residents through the Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA).

Psychology Center

Creating Access to Care UW Department of Psychology expands access to mental health and aging care resources across Wyoming through the Psychology Center and Wyoming Center on Aging.

14 • Elevations 2024

The mission of the UWPC is to provide affordable, quality mental health care to the campus community and area residents. It serves as a training center for the clinical psychology doctoral program at UW, and all assessments and treatment at the UWPC are conducted by graduate student therapists, under the direct supervision of a licensed clinical psychologist.

“Last academic year, we saw 202 clients for individual therapy,” says Cynthia Hartung, director of the center. There are a variety of specialty teams focusing on conditions including anxiety disorders, depressive and mood disorders and trauma, she explains.

In addition to providing affordable

support for students and community members, the UWPC makes it a priority to share evidence-based treatments with other professionals.

“We’re not only trying to develop treatment programs, but we’re also trying to disseminate them,” Hartung says. “That’s why we call ourselves the Psychology Center for Training in Assessment, Treatment and Clinical Research UW — it’s because we’re doing assessment and treatment, but also clinical research, and learning how to help people with different problems.”

Each spring, the UWPC hosts a training workshop for therapists to attend and learn evidence-based practices. Though it depends on the year, there are usually 30-100 professionals in attendance.

“Since UW is the only four-year university in Wyoming, we really try to have a positive impact on mental health in the state,” she says.

At this year’s workshop, the center also welcomed a national audience of therapists participating remotely to learn about helping students thrive in college with ADHD, which was the main topic of the spring workshop.

A key component of the UWPC is providing services on a sliding payment scale based on income.

“If you’re a student or a senior, you automatically pay $5 per therapy session,” Hartung says. “If your income is less than $25,000, you pay $5 per therapy session. If it’s $25,000 to $50,000, it’s $15, and above $50,000 is $30 per session.”

On average, most therapy sessions in the community cost between $100$200, so the UWPC makes its services significantly more affordable. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, in the National Comorbidity Study, 47 percent of respondents with

a mood, anxiety or substance-use disorder who said they thought they needed mental health care cited cost or not having health insurance as a reason they did not receive care.

Additionally, the UWPC provides psychological assessments for a variety of things, including disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity, autism spectrum disorder, diagnosis of psychological disorders as well as personality assessments.

Though these services are largely sought by students on campus and Laramie residents, mental health professionals from around the state — and often the country — learn from UW psychology faculty members who are conducting cutting-edge research.

Wyoming Center on Aging

Similarly, many populations around the state benefit from the critical offerings of the Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA), which aims to optimize the health and well-being of older adults and their caregivers through interagency partnerships.

This emphasis is largely driven by the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, a five-year, $3.75 million cooperative agreement from the Health Resources and Services Administration focused on workforce training.

“This grant is a partnership among educational institutions, clinical health care systems and communitybased organizations, with the goal of transforming how care is delivered to older adults,” WyCOA Director Christine McKibbin says. “One of the key aspects of transformation is infusing age-friendly health care into our systems throughout Wyoming, primarily starting with our partner sites, Ivinson Medical Group and Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.”

When it comes to working with older adults, WATCH A VIDEO McKibbin was drawn to this work as high school student volunteering at a rehabilitation center in her hometown. She was paired with a Native Alaskan elder who had been separated from her family and seemed depressed.

“As a high school student, that was a challenging position to be in,” she says.

“I had to navigate cultural differences, language differences and the companionship needs for this person.

I realized how much more we could be doing in our rural communities to educate, train and prepare the workforce to be able to serve people of all types.”

Delivering age-friendly care starts with health care professionals understanding what’s important to the older adult. As people age, they may accumulate health conditions that make them and their experience more complex, and as a result, their priorities might change.

“For instance, there may be the person who is very focused on having blood pressure perfectly controlled, yet another person may have a different value. They may want to focus on being with family or engaging in their favorite pastimes and maybe do not want to be bothered with the burden of tight control,” McKibbin says.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 15

Christine McKibbin, director of the Wyoming Center on Aging, smiles for a photo while working with a UW student and community member.

“This grant is a partnership among educational institutions, clinical health care systems and community-based organizations, with the goal of transforming how care is delivered to older adults.”

—Christine McKibbin

As WyCOA works to implement age-friendly care, there are four components professionals have to keep in mind. First, it’s important that what matters to the older adult is being addressed. Second, health care professionals must monitor medications to ensure they’re working properly and addressing the issues of the individual. Third is mentation or mind, which looks at delirium, dementia or depression and assessing and addressing those conditions.

Fourth is mobility, or the ability for 16 • Elevations 2024

individuals to get around and avoid falls.

These key components are often remembered by professionals as “the four M’s,” which stand for “matters, medications, mentation/mind and mobility.”

“We want to make sure that medications and the other ‘M’s’ don’t interfere with one another,” she says.

“The workforce is trained to assess and address all components of the four ‘M’s.’”

WyCOA is currently implementing another program called Medicare’s Chronic Care Management, which is focused on older adults with two or more chronic care conditions. This program has been implemented across 12 sites in Wyoming, including the center’s two partner sites.

“With that program, an interprofessional team, including a care coordinator, is focused on working with the older adult, spending the time to help coordinate care and connecting them with community-based programs that support wellness,” she says.

Not only does WyCOA work to create these partnerships and implement this critical care across the state; the program also allows students to gain experience in these unique environments.

“These are exciting settings for students to be in because they can be an active part of an interprofessional team and assist with coordination of care improvement, quality of care and delivery of services within primary care settings,” she says.

WyCOA also works directly with older adults and family caregivers around the state. For instance, the team spearhead the Wyoming Dementia Together program, which is a team of professionals with expertise in dementia and caregiving. This group, which includes a neuropsychologist, social worker, a caregiver and a dementia care specialist, presents information and education via Zoom to family caregivers around the state. Not only does this team provide information, but there is also opportunity for discussion afterward.

“Caregivers can chime in and present challenging issues they are wrestling with, and those issues are discussed by our team of professionals,” McKibbin says. “We’ve had some really wonderful unsolicited testimonials from the family caregivers, saying that this has been amazing and really made a difference for them.”

Another program WyCOA delivers is called “On the Move,” which is designed for older adults who may not have a lot of confidence in their mobility. This program is set to music and includes choreographed movements and has had a positive effect, not only on participants’ mobility, but also for those struggling with post-COVID loneliness.

“I think time for socialization and meeting other people in the community has been really life-changing for some,” she says.

Through the data they collect each year, both McKibbin and Hartung continue to see the positive impacts WyCOA and the UWPC are having on the local community and state.

To learn more about the Department of Psychology at UW, visit uwyo.edu/ psychology.

Taking Chances Studying abroad changed how UW communications alumna Jocelyn Petersen, ’24 of Greeley, Colo., approached the world.

By Jocelyn Petersen

(This article was adapted from a blog post written by recent communications alumna Jocelyn Petersen ’24, during her time as the College of Arts and Sciences Marketing Intern during the spring 2024 semester.)

Same Old Jocelyn The person I am today is not the same person I was a year and a half ago.

And I hate that I’m saying that and fully believing it. It’s just so cheesy! As I reflect on the saying, I was a bit of a nonbeliever. Change, to me, was like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. When you’re talking to a child about Santa Claus, you believe that they believe but you know the truth.

Basically, I was a total change-cynic.

I had never found myself in a position that left me much changed. Sure, I had graduated high school and started college, but even leaving home and beginning a new step in my academic career felt like it was the same old Jocelyn running on autopilot.

And while the same old Jocelyn was an accomplished individual who focused on doing well in school and creating relationships with those around her, while being a determined and driven athlete, she wasn’t someone who took challenges easily. She barely bothered to leave her comfort zone and thought most things that she wanted were just out of her reach.

When it came to change, I knew that doing so could be good for me, but knowing is so much easier than doing.

Like many, I saw university as an opportunity to learn and grow both academically and as an individual. University was

Jocelyn Petersen poses for a photo while visiting the Gardens and Villa d’Este in Tivoli, Italy, during her semester abroad.

an opportunity for change. So, when I entered my first year of school in 2019, I attempted to search out opportunities that led me to growth and change, and yet, I kept myself completely safe. Safe from being hurt, safe from challenging myself too much, safe from experiencing what could be great for me.

Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by stories about the travels my family had experienced at one time or the other.

My mom is from Canada, and when she went to university, she had the opportunity to complete her nursing degree in Australia.

She is my hero and someone I respect and attempt to emulate every day of my life. My mom has always been someone I admire, and the stories I’ve heard about her time abroad continued to paint her in an amazing light. She was UW College of Arts and Sciences • 17

Jocelyn Petersen’s mother, Heidi, holds a koala during her time in Australia.

and is everything I hope to be as I grow into myself. She takes chances, she challenges herself, and she’s honest with herself and those around her. In her 20s, she was a daredevil. It’s inspiring.

After my mom graduated, she spent the summer backpacking around Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the surrounding islands.

During a stop in the Cook Islands, while in the hotel pool with her brother, she met my dad. Just a 20-something guy from Greeley, Colo., with his mom and stepdad on a scuba diving trip.

They were so much cooler then.

And, as the cliché line goes, the rest was history.

Throughout each story my family told, one message was clear — they all hoped that, at some point, I would have the same opportunities for myself that they had.

Taking Chances Suddenly, everything was moving very quickly. During meetings with the education abroad staff, I found out about the London spring semester as well.

I distinctly remember a phone call with my mom when I said I had always wanted to be in London for a longer time than I had been able to previously, but … Rome. And, because my mom had always been incredibly supportive, she replied, “I think that my dream for you is to do both. We’ll just figure it out.”

And we did, we just figured it out. To this day, I still believe that the loan payments are completely worth the experiences and growth I had.

Inspired to Travel When I was 14, my grandparents took me on a monthlong excursion to England, Scotland, Wales and France. We went to more museums than we knew what to do with, we saw sights that I had learned about since I was young, and I was introduced to a world different than the one I was accustomed to. I was amazed by the sights and blown away by the fact that an entire world existed outside of my everyday life.

During that month, my passion for traveling was born.

While abroad, I came to recognize the importance of leaving an environment I found comfort in, opening my worldview and learning more about the culture around me.

Upon leaving the UK and Europe, my dream of traveling continued to manifest, and I became increasingly more serious about studying abroad while in college.

The year before I began college, I decided to swim for UW — an institution I chose for many reasons, but mainly because of Wyoming’s amazing education abroad options and funding.

After a series of events, including a worldwide pandemic, I was completing my third year of studies, having been injured and leaving the swim team, when a friend of mine reached out and said their professor announced that some students pulled out of the education abroad program traveling to Rome, Italy, and that the Education Abroad Office would be reopening applications in attempt to gain a few more applicants.

Experiencing Life Abroad In fall 2022, I traveled to Rome and studied art history in a faculty-led program with UW art history Associate Professor Rachel Sailor. I lived in an apartment with five other students who I became very close to over the three months.

While I was there, I became someone I’m incredibly proud of. As an only child, I’ve never much enjoyed being alone or doing errands by myself. I’m not one to search out adventures.

I’m not someone you could call ‘easy-going,’ and yet I found myself going with the flow (albeit, I went with the flow a little stressed). I said yes to every outing, every sightseeing opportunity, every learning opportunity, and I found myself seeking opportunities to go to museums or important Rome locations on my own.

In short, my time in Rome made me someone who was confident in my independence and confident that I just can.

I came home for a little over a month in December 2022, rushed to get a Visa and left in January 2023 for three months in London.

I’m often asked which was my favorite of the two experiences, and they were just so completely different that it is impossible to tell.

On one hand, I met amazing individuals in Rome and truly got to know myself while I was there, but on the other, I was living out my 14-year-old dream of truly living in “jolly ol’ London town.”

18 • Elevations 2024

I also like to explain it like this: I took what I learned from Rome and applied it to my approach of spending time in London. I grew personally in Rome, but in London I grew professionally.

In Rome, I studied elementary Italian and international marketing, and in London I applied for a work placement.

The work placement allowed me to apply my established education in an internship setting, as I was placed with Ronald McDonald House UK, where I was the assistant to the community fundraiser.

My time in London taught me how to be an accomplished professional — how to grow and learn in an already established environment, how to be helpful across a multitude of avenues and how to speak up for additional opportunities.

The unexpected experience London gave also changed my professional interests.

When I was in high school, I used to struggle envisioning what I saw for myself in the future. That Jocelyn had also never seen herself in a specific career field, didn’t exactly have any interests or passions that could be turned into a job, and just generally worried that it was going to take some time to figure out where she was headed. Coming into university, I explored different interests and ultimately landed on communication because it not only interested me, but I also seemed to excel at it.

Jocelyn Petersen and her roommate, UW student Kari Holte, in Scotland.

Jocelyn Petersen’s roommates and friends pose for a photo while in Rome, visiting the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. From left to right, Grace Lybeck, Alexa Christ, Darian Hagen, Jocelyn Petersen, Jade Nguyen and Jessica Brennan.

I turned my interest for social media into the academic path I took at UW, taking various journalism courses and even including some graphic design courses that I hoped would translate well in managing and developing social media accounts in the future.

Going into my time abroad in London, I had curated my work placement to hopefully be in an area that could translate to my interest in social media and public relations, but I was also taking classes with UW Professor Andrew Garner that were centered on political science.

During the three months in London, we studied and analyzed the differences of democracies around the world and discussed the operations that go into democratizing regions and how regime changes can play out. For a student who had never taken any kind of political science course, it was eye-opening.

Just like when I was 14, traveling abroad for the first time and just like when I was 21, living in a country where I did not speak the same language, I was experiencing something that completely altered my worldview.

Now, a year after arriving back in the U.S., I am continuing to try to figure out how to involve political science, diplomacy and humanitarian aid into my future career.

I started this piece by saying that I didn’t believe in change, but studying abroad has been the best change to ever happen to me. I desperately needed this change. It woke me up, it awoke a passion in me for something I didn’t see a future in.

It revealed a confidence in me that I never knew I had.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 19

Unveiling the Curtain of Set Design The UW Department of Theatre and Dance built a 12-square-foot pool on the stage of the Thrust Theatre for its “Metamorphoses” performance during the fall 2023 semester.

By Michaela Jones Each year, hundreds of arts enthusiasts look to the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wyoming for entertainment and high-quality productions. Students demonstrate tremendous displays of talent in the areas of dance, acting and musical theater, design, production and management that wow audiences with each performance.

Despite weeks — and often months — of preparation for these performances, audience members are only privy to the final, polished product. Leading up to the big act, however, the way in which the setting, atmosphere and mood of the production are conveyed must be taken into consideration.

Set design doesn’t happen overnight.

It involves concept development, research, sketching, creating 3D renderings or models, budgeting, construction, installations, safety considerations and much more.

“I love the idea of creating worlds,”

The above sequ en process of bu ild ce of photos shows the ing the pool on Theatre Stage the Th rust for Mar y Zi m mer adaptation of O vid’s “Metam man’s or phoses .”

PHOTOS BY SC OTT TEDMON

20 • Elevations 2024

-JONES

These photos are from the story “Midas” with performers Carson Almand (Silenus), Kayla Lin Colburn (First Laundress), Connor Durkee (Midas’s Servant), Kay McLean (Midas’s Daughter), Rebecca Sigrid (Second Laundress), Carolyn Thornton (Third Laundress) and Cody Wilcox (Midas). The intoxicated Silenus is brought before Midas by the Servant and “settles into the pool.”

PHOTOS BY DONALD TURNER

UW Assistant Professor of Scenic Design Scott TedmonJones says. “I love thinking about the bigger picture and creating space where a story can be told.”

During the fall 2023 semester, the way environment enhances storytelling was brought to life on stage for Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” which was performed in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts on the UW campus.

Those who attended the performance were surprised to discover a 12-squarefoot pool containing 156 cubic feet of water in the middle of the Thrust Theatre stage.

Throughout the play, water acts as a symbol of transformation and essentially becomes its own character.

This was the Department of Theatre and Dance’s first time producing “Metamorphoses,” and because a pool of water is a principal element of the production, it presented many challenges for the creative team, performers and crew.

“Some things we focused on during the process were how to prevent the wooden slats around the pool from collecting too much water and being too slippery, how to keep the backstage area safe for performers and crew, and how to support performers in wet

costumes needing to make a significant number of costume changes,” TedmonJones says. “Additionally, once water was added to the pool, we had to do significant troubleshooting to provide sufficient and safe traction inside the pool for the performers.”

The pool was filled about 13 inches, and each cubic foot of water is roughly 7.4 gallons. Each gallon weighs 8.34 pounds, so the pool had to be built to hold roughly 9,700 pounds. Fortunately, the Thrust Theatre stage is built on a concrete slab, so it was able to support the weight of the pool.

“I think a lot of student participants were expecting something like a kiddy pool,” he says.

Though there were many considerations when it came to constructing the pool, there were also many logistical components for the creative team to prepare for.

Erin Carter, UW assistant professor in costume design, with the support of Costume Shop Coordinator Kate Backman, needed to design waterfriendly costumes, and Jason Banks, UW assistant lecturer in lighting design, incorporated water-friendly lighting around the pool.

“We needed to think about things like, ‘How do we keep the performers warm? How do we have enough towels so we’re not doing laundry all the time?’” Tedmon-Jones says.

The Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Building, which houses the Department of Theatre and Dance, has a scene shop with approximately 2,750 square feet for sets to be built and stored. In addition to the scene shop, other facilities include a prop shop and storage, costume shop and storage and an electrics maintenance workroom.

After each production, the crew tries to salvage and repurpose as many of the

materials for future performances as possible. In the case of the pool from “Metamorphoses,” the lumber that was part of the deck and walls, as well as the carpet used to help with slipperiness, was all saved for future use.

Tedmon-Jones was inspired by Greek architecture for not only the pool but much of the set. He notes that for this production in particular, the importance of functionality largely affected the creative process.

“When I talk to my students in my Intro to Design class about the design process, one of the things we discuss is that there are going to be factors that affect our design choices,” he says. “We should dream big to fully develop our ideas and discover what is important for the individual production, but we also need to consider safety and the limitations of time, labor, budget and the venue. This was an excellent production to demonstrate a complex design process.”

For Tedmon-Jones, he loves the collaborative, interdisciplinary aspect of the whole process. “Everyone from the director and creative team to the performers to the crew brings their part to the process to help tell the story as effectively and creatively as we possibly can. Each show is a new challenge.”

Tedmon-Jones and the Department of Theatre and Dance acknowledge and thank the College of Arts and Sciences for their financial support of this production through a faculty research and creative activity grant; the Honors College for its financial support in addition to including the production as part of its first-year colloquium curriculum; and the Wyoming Arts Council for its financial support of the department and this production.

To stay up to date on all UW Theatre and Dance productions, visit https://uwyo.edu/thd.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 21

Breaking New Ground

By Michaela Jones

PHOTO BY JASON TOOHEY

UW anthropology professors’ latest research reveals a multitude of findings, ranging from unearthing the Americas’ oldest known bead in Wyoming to discovering information in the Andes that challenges the traditional hunter-gatherer narrative.

PHOTO BY SARAH STAGG

Jason Toohey

22 • Elevations 2024

Throughout the past academic year, faculty members from the University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology have made significant contributions to our understanding of early human history through their latest research findings.

Read on for an overview of several of these studies, which have been published in a variety of academic journals.

UW Anthropologists’ Research Unveils Early Stone Plaza in the Andes Two anthropology professors discovered one of the earliest circular plazas in Andean South America, showcasing monumental megalithic architecture, which refers to construction that uses large stones placed upright with no mortar.

Located at the Callacpuma archaeological site in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru, the plaza is built with large, vertically placed megalithic stones — a construction method previously unseen in the Andes. Associate Professor Jason Toohey, project lead, and Professor Melissa Murphy have been researching this topic since the project’s inception in 2015. Excavations took place in the plaza starting in 2018.

PHOTO BY RANDY HAAS

Left: A team, including UW anthropologists, works at the site of a circular plaza that was built around 4,750 years ago in the Cajamarca Basin of northern Peru. Right: The Wilamaya Patjxa archaeological site in Peru produced human remains showing that the diets of early people of the Andes were primarily composed of plant materials.

Their paper, which reports new data on this earliest known megalithic circular plaza in the northern Andes, is titled “A Monumental Stone Plaza at 4750 BP in the Cajamarca Valley of Peru” and was published in the peerreviewed journal Science Advances.

Radiocarbon dating places its initial construction around 4,750 years ago during the Late Preceramic Period, making it one of the earliest instances of such architecture in the Americas.

“This structure was built approximately 100 years before the Great Pyramids of Egypt and around the same time as Stonehenge,” Toohey says. “It was probably a gathering place and ceremonial location for some of the earliest people living in this part of the Cajamarca Valley. These people were living a primarily hunting-and-gathering lifestyle and probably had only recently begun growing crops and domesticating animals.”

Archaeologist’s Research Challenges Hunter-Gatherer Narrative The oft-used description of early humans as “hunter-gatherers” should be changed to “gatherer-hunters,” at least in the Andes of South America, according to groundbreaking research led by a UW archaeologist.

Archaeologists long thought that early human diets were meat-based. However, Assistant Professor Randy Haas’ analysis of the remains of 24 individuals from the Wilamaya Patjxa and Soro Mik’aya Patjxa burial sites in Peru shows that early human diets in the Andes Mountains were composed of 80 percent plant matter and 20 percent meat.

The study, titled “Stable isotope chemistry,” was published by the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE. It applied methods in isotope chemistry and statistical modeling to unveil a surprising twist in early Andean societies and traditional hunter-gatherer narratives.

“Conventional wisdom holds that early human economies focused on hunting — an idea that has led to a number of high-protein dietary fads, such as the Paleodiet,” Haas says. “Our analysis shows that the diets were composed of 80 percent plant matter and 20 percent meat.”

For these early humans of the Andes, spanning from 9,000 to 6,500 years ago, there is indeed evidence that hunting of large mammals provided some of their diets. But the new analysis of the isotopic composition of the human bones shows

At the time, we assumed the individual was a male hunter, However, osteological and proteomic analysis later revealed the male hunter was actually _ Randy Haas female. that plant foods made up the majority of individual diets, with meat playing a secondary role.

Additionally, burnt plant remains from the sites and distinct dental-wear patterns on the individuals’ upper incisors indicate that tubers — or plants that grow underground, such as potatoes — likely were the most prominent subsistence resource.

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 23

PHOTO BY BILL MATTHEWS

“They could have been more like kitchen knives used in domestic activities, or they may have been fashioned specifically as funerary objects to honor the deceased,” Haas says.

The two researchers traveled to the Peruvian Andes with a microscope and laser scanner to examine the artifacts. After further inspection, it turned out that all of the supposed projectile points were indeed projectile points used to hunt large mammals and showed the signs of projectile wear.

The findings indicated that both females and males were large-mammal hunters in some times and places in the past.

Archaeology Professor’s Research on 9,000-Year-Old Burial Site Suggests Women Hunted Big Game Haas’ research on the 9,000-year-old Wilamaya Patjxa burial site in Peru also suggests that women might have hunted big game.

During archaeological excavations in the Andes in 2018, a team of archaeologists and Indigenous collaborators discovered an adult individual interred 9,000 years ago with a large-mammal hunting toolkit that included six projectile points. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“At the time, we assumed the individual was a male hunter,” Haas says. “However, osteological and proteomic analysis later revealed the male hunter was actually female.”

He teamed up with the University of Louisville’s Ashley Smallwood, who specializes in lithic usewear analysis — a technique for examining microscopic wear patterns on stone tools to identify their function. They did further research into whether the projectile points at Wilamaya Patjxa were, in fact, projectile points.

24 • Elevations 2024

UW Professor Emeritus Bob Kelly excavates cached materials on a cliff side on the Hole in the Wall ranch outside Kaycee.

PHOTO BY MADELINE MACKIE

UW Assistant Professor Randy Haas works at the Wilamaya Patjxa burial site in Peru, where the 9,000-year-old remains of a female big-game hunter were found.

UW Archaeology Professor Emeritus Discovers Artifact Spike 45,000 Years Ago Not Due to Taphonomic Bias Researchers have observed a rapid increase in symbolic artifacts — objects that likely reflected and communicated abstract thought, such as art — around 40,000 to 45,000 years ago in the Old World Paleolithic record.

Some suggest that if taphonomic bias (the loss of archaeological materials over time to erosion and decomposition) hadn’t occurred, the data might instead show a gradual increase in these artifacts during the Middle Stone Age/Middle Paleolithic.

Professor Emeritus of Archaeology Bob Kelly and doctoral student Madeline Mackie tested this theory by adjusting for taphonomic bias. Their findings revealed that the 40,000 to 45,000-year peak still exists without any prior gradual increase.

Kelly worked on compiling data while on a Humboldt Fellowship in Germany — an award granted to only a small number of internationally leading researchers from a variety of disciplines.

They investigated various factors, such as destruction by erosion, that could account for the low frequency of symbolic artifacts before 45,000 BP. Kelly and Mackie also identified smaller peaks around 65,000, 75,000, and 115,000 to 120,000 years ago. However, the impact of research bias, still needs to be further examined. In this instance, research bias refers to the fact that archaeologists have devoted a lot of time and attention to upper Paleolithic sites because they contain a lot of interesting materials. As a result, archaeologists have found a lot of materials in these sites. Their study attempted to correct for this bias.

During their study, the team analyzed materials such as ivory carvings, engraved ostrich eggshells, stone, bone, shell, and ostrich eggshell beads, tooth pendants, cut-marked raptor and corvid wing bones, engraved ochre and bones, and bone and ivory flutes. Many of these artifacts are instances of personal adornment.

They noted that many variables factor into preservation, including moisture, temperature, acidity, oxygen and sunlight, and every site has a unique preservation environment.

Kelly and Mackie concluded by discussing how the production of symbolic artifacts could fluctuate based on adaptive pressures, emphasizing the need to understand both taphonomic and research biases.

PHOTOS BY TODD SUROVELL

An aerial view of the La Prele Mammoth site in Converse County. Inset: These images are of a tube-shaped bead made of bone that is about 12,940 years old. The bead was discovered at Wyoming’s La Prele Mammoth site by UW archaeology Professor Todd Surovell and his research team.

metapodial (the bones that link the phalanges of the digits to the more proximal bones of the limb) or a UW Archaeology Professor Discovers Oldest Known Bead in the Americas proximal phalanx (a bone found in the Archaeology Professor Todd Surovell and his team of collaborators have discovered fingers and toes of humans and other a tube-shaped bead made of bone that is about 12,940 years old. vertebrates) of a hare.

The bead, found at the La Prele Mammoth site in Converse County, is the oldest This finding represents the first known bead in the Americas. secure evidence for the use of hares Surovell’s research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports; during the Clovis period, which the paper is titled “Use of hare bone for the manufacture of a Clovis bead.” refers to a prehistoric era in Members of the research team included people from UW, the Office of the North America, particularly WATCH A VIDEO Wyoming State Archaeologist, the University of Manchester, Weber State prominent about 12,000 University and Chico State University. years ago. It’s named after the The La Prele Mammoth site preserves the remains of a killed or scavenged Clovis archaeological site in sub-adult Columbian mammoth and an associated camp occupied during New Mexico, where distinctive the time the animal was butchered. stone tools were discovered.

To determine the origin of the bone bead, the team extracted collagen for To learn more about the zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, also known as ZooMS, which allowed Department of Anthropology the group to gain insights about the chemical composition of the bone. at UW, visit uwyo.edu/ Digging the American The researchers concluded that the bead was made from either a anthropology.

West with Todd Surovell

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 25

a r w d A s B S a & n A q 4 uet 2 0 2 The University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences held its annual awards banquet at the end of the spring 2024 semester, honoring current and former faculty members, as well as alumni.

Before the ceremony got underway, the Student Jazz Quartet — featuring Sean Clark, of Gillette; Trisha Cates, of Torrington; and Alex Bryan and Ryan Emmett Larsen, both of Casper — performed at the event.

The annual A&S awards banquet is held each May to honor the tradition and history of excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences and to celebrate current individuals within the college. Before the ceremony, the Student Jazz Quartet — featuring Sean Clark, of Gillette; Trisha Cates, of Torrington; and Alex Bryan and Ryan Emmett Larsen, both of Casper — performed.

Dean Scott Turpen handed out awards that recognized outstanding alumni; outstanding former faculty; extraordinary merit in teaching and research; and the Beatrice Gallatin Beuf Golden Apple Award.

“This year’s award recipients come from across the College of Arts and Sciences,” Turpen says. “Their dedication to superb teaching and cutting-edge scholarship and creative activity exemplifies the spirit of excellence we strive for in our academic community.”

This year’s College of Arts and Sciences’ award recipients are:

Outstanding Alumni Awards Christina Hassija, who earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UW in 2011, was recognized with an Outstanding Alumni Award. During her time at UW, she earned the John P. Ellbogen Outstanding Graduate Assistant Teaching Award. After graduating, Hassija completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for PTSD at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center and Stanford University, centered on the implementation and dissemination of evidencebased psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder.

She was hired as an assistant professor at California State University-San Bernadino in 2013. Hassija became chair of the Department of Psychology in 2020, and she then became dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in 2023.

Her passion lies in creating opportunities for and mentorship to students from diverse ethnic, social and socioeconomic backgrounds.

26 • Elevations 2024

ALL IMAGES BY MATTHEW IDLER PHOTOGRAPHY

Outstanding Former Faculty Award

Jean Garrison, who also received an Outstanding Alumni Award, earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UW in 1990, graduating with honors. After completing her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina and teaching at Boston University, she returned to UW in 2000 as a faculty member in political science and international studies.

Since then, she has served in many roles at UW, including as director of the International Studies Program, the Center for Global Studies, the Office of Engagement and Outreach and the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program. Her international research in American foreign policy, energy security and U.S.-China relations has led to several books, articles and international fellowships.

Her work in civic engagement focuses on creating partnerships across all levels of education in Wyoming to promote greater understanding of civics and public service in Wyoming. Garrison has won various awards, including the Outstanding Merit in Research and Advising Award, Mortar Board Top Prof Award and the UW Presidential Stewardship Award.

Oliver Walter, who received the Outstanding Former Faculty Award, joined the UW Department of Political Science in 1970 with concentrations in American government and survey research. After serving as department head for eight years, he became dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1989 and held this position until his retirement in 2013. During this time, he led the college’s 28 departments and seven programs.

In addition to awards that included Pi Sigma Alpha Outstanding Political Science Professor, Mortar Board Top Professor and the service award from UW’s International Board of Advisers, Walter championed public outreach, service and collaboration. He recognized the importance of international relationships and established student and faculty exchanges with Taiwan and China. A hallmark of his legacy continues with the Wyoming Election Survey, providing data biannually since 1972 on Wyoming citizens’ political perspectives and voting patterns.

Walter earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1972, as well as his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Washington State University in 1966 and 1964, respectively.

Extraordinary Merit in Teaching Awards

Extraordinary Merit in Research Awards

Adam Blackler, Department of History Catherine Hartmann, Department of Philosophy and Religion Christina McDonnell, Department of Psychology Valerie Pexton, Department of English Jamie Snyder, Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology

Briana Doering, Department of Anthropology Melissa Morris, Department of History Nancy Small, Department of English Kasey Stanton, Department of Psychology Clair Uding, Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology

Beatrice Gallatin Beuf Golden Apple Award Daniel Auerbach, Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology

UW College of Arts and Sciences • 27

Honoring a Legacy The College of Arts and Sciences establishes the Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund.

Former UW College of Arts and Sciences Dean Oliver Walter, left, stands with current College of Arts and Scien ces Dean Scott Turpen at this year’ s annual A&S awards banquet.

The College of Arts and Sciences launched the Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund, which celebrates Walter’s tenure and legacy as former dean of the college.

“As dean, he strengthened existing academic programs, created new ones, fostered international partnerships and programs, encouraged excellence in the classroom, enhanced student scholarships and championed the contributions and achievements of faculty,” says Scott Turpen, current dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

28 • Elevations 2023

The college is recognizing Walter’s significant contributions to UW by establishing the Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund. This endowment will provide a flexible pool of dollars for the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and will enable the college to respond quickly to emerging opportunities, to pursue strategic initiatives and to invest in areas of greatest need and potential for success.

For four decades, Walter served the students, staff and faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences as a professor and administrator. He served as a professor in the Department of Political Science from 1970-1989, as head of the department from 1981-89 and as dean of the college from 1989-2012.

As dean, Walter oversaw the college’s 29 academic departments and programs and six support units — the largest college at the time, with the largest enrollment of all of UW’s academic units. His tenure as Arts and Sciences dean included an emphasis on student recruitment and advising; teaching excellence; faculty research; fundraising; study abroad; cultural arts outreach; and hiring of women and minority faculty.

Walters not only served UW as dean, but he and his wife, Sidney, have supported UW with their philanthropy consistently since 1983. They, along with friends, established the Saunders-Walter Study Abroad Fund in the college. They also have given generously to many funds across campus established by others, including the Duncan and Janice Harris Excellence Fund in Honors.

“It’s exciting to celebrate and honor Ollie with this fund, and I look forward to all the opportunities the fund is going to create for our college in the future,” Turpen says.

For more information about the UW College of Arts and Sciences or about the Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund, call the Dean’s Office at (307) 766-4106 or email asdean1@uwyo.edu.

To make a gift, visit uwyo.edu/walterfund or call the UW Foundation at (307) 766-6300.

PHOTO BY MATTHEW IDLER PHOTOGRAPHY

GIVE TO ARTS AND SCIENCES Name: Address: City:

State:

Phone Number:

Email:

Zip:

Update your information online at www.uwyo.edu/updateinfo

MY GIFT IS: ❏ $2,500

 $1,000 Steamboat Society

❏ $500

❏ $250

❏ $125

❏ Other:

MY GIFT IS FOR: ❏ Dean’s Visioning Fund (500003) ❏ Other (please specify)

WAYS TO GIVE: ONLINE: www.uwyo.edu/giveonline CALL:

(307) 766-6300 or (888) 831-7795

MAIL:

Fill out and return mail with your gift to the University of Wyoming Foundation, 222 South 22nd Street, Laramie, WY 82070 Make checks payable to the University of Wyoming Foundation.

N25A&S

College of Arts and Sciences 1000 E. University Ave, Dept. 3254 Laramie, WY 82071

Get Connected @uwyocollegeofas

@uwyoartssciences

@UWyoArtsSciences

Follow the College of Arts and Sciences to keep up to date on events, news and tips or check out all the social media channels for the University of Wyoming at uwyo.edu/socialmedia