University of Wyoming unveils two finalists for president

The University of Wyoming has narrowed its presidential search to two candidates, and the public can meet them Monday and Tuesday during public appearances in Laramie.

Kelly Crane is dean of the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources at UW. Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves is dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. The men were selected from a pool of 103 candidates vying to succeed President Ed Seidel, who will step down when his contract expires in June.

Seidel has served as UW’s top administrator since July 2020. He was the fifth president hired in just over six years, and arrived as colleges nationwide were grappling with how to educate students during a global pandemic.

Seidel sits at a table beside UW trustees — University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel listens March 21, 2024, during a board of trustees meeting at the campus. (Ashton J. Hacke/WyoFile)

Seidel’s 2025 decision to step down came three months after the faculty senate overwhelmingly delivered a vote of no confidence in his leadership following the demotion of a popular dean and questions over Seidel’s role in shifting money to the School of Computing, which was then headed by the president’s romantic partner.

Whoever fills his position will helm Wyoming’s only four-year university, which was buoyed in March by the defeat of a legislative proposal to cut $61 million in state funding.

“We, I think, gained a lot of momentum as a university, because so many people across the state spoke out on our behalf,” Seidel, a vocal champion and defender of UW during budget negotiations, told WyoFile this week.

The university has also faced legislative scrutiny over curriculum and programming in recent years and fought to stabilize enrollment, which has been on a downward trend since the late 2010s.

Who are they

UW’s board of trustees selected the finalists following two rounds of interviews, including one conducted by a 17-member search committee.

Kelly Crane is dean of the UW College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources. (University of Wyoming)

Crane is a University of Wyoming alum; he earned a doctorate in rangeland ecology and management and a Master of Science in range management in Laramie, according to his LinkedIn account. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in science at the University of Idaho. He began his work with UW Extension in 1994 as a range specialist and educator and has moved up through a series of leadership roles in the College of Ag. He was named college dean in 2024.

His UW biography stressed Crane’s collaborative approach to building partnerships and encouraging innovation.

“His work is focused on integrating student success, workforce development, and community engagement across all aspects of the college’s teaching, research, and extension missions,” it says. “Dr. Crane aims for a college which is relevant, responsive, and accountable to Wyoming.”

Though most of Reeves’ career has taken place elsewhere, he is a native of Rock Springs. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1996 and was commissioned as an armor officer at Fort Irwin, California, where he served in several positions.

Shane Reeves is dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (U.S. Military Academy at West Point)

He transitioned to law and holds a master’s degree in military law from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School and a Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary, along with a bachelor’s degree in science from the U.S. Military Academy, according to his U.S. Military Academy biography. He has worked in legal positions from Fort Riley, Kansas to Taji, Iraq. He has spoken, written and taught extensively on international law, and is a founding member and director of the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at West Point.

President Joe Biden nominated Reeves to be dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him in 2021, the Rock Springs Rocket Miner reported. Reeves and his wife have resided in West Point for more than 10 years and raised three children there.

Meet the candidates

Both candidates will make public appearances on campus next week.

On Monday, Crane is scheduled to appear at a public forum at 2 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom and again at 5:30 p.m. during a community reception at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

On Tuesday, Reeves is scheduled to appear at a public forum at 2 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom and again at 5:30 p.m. during a community reception at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

The board of trustees will seek public input before selecting the next president, according to the university. This will include online questionnaires open for each candidate for 24 hours following their respective visit.

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for:

Your real name — first and last.
Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
No more than three comments per story, including replies.

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
Comments that are not directly relevant to the article.
Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know:

Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement.
We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance.
Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you.