UW College of A&S Establishes Oliver Walter Dean’s Excellence Fund

The University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences has 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.

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 www.uwyo.edu/walterfund or call the UW Foundation at (307) 766-6300.