Once Wyoming’s far-right lawmakers sink their teeth into a national red-meat political target, they naturally thirst for more.
Opinion
That’s why it’s frustrating to see Ed Seidel, the University of Wyoming’s president until his contract expires this summer, use his lame-duck office to lament the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee’s decision to cut UW’s block grant by $40 million while making cuts to Wyoming Public Media and UW Athletics.
Seidel apparently didn’t learn any lessons from the Legislature’s 2024 session, when an amendment was tacked onto the budget bill to keep UW from spending any funds on its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or related programming.
If he couldn’t keep the DEI office open back then, how will he defend the university from lawmakers ready to tackle what they’ve branded UW’s “woke” agenda during the budget session that convenes Feb. 9?
Perhaps the current campus community, including students, faculty and staff, as well as the massive alumni network, might be useful. What if Seidel put out the word that he needs backup in this political fight?
No one knows the value of a UW education better than current and former students.
“It’s driven by misinformation,” Seidel said of the 2024 attack on DEI. “It’s largely driven by things happening on a national level, the kind of things we hear about are not actually happening at the University of Wyoming.”
He was right. Most legislators pushing for the closure had no idea what the office did. They looked at the title and figured it had something to do with helping transgender students or other minorities who got undeserved support for admission and hiring. Some members of the Freedom Caucus branded DEI racist.
In reality, DEI is just the opposite. It refers to policies and practices that ensure all individuals, regardless of their background, have equal opportunities for success and inclusion. It creates an environment where all individuals feel valued, heard and can contribute their unique perspectives.
When it became evident that the Freedom Caucus and its Senate allies were going after DEI funding and trying to close the office, Seidel and UW officials should have made the full Legislature aware that the masterminds behind this were totally off base. UW has saved other programs that have been under attack in recent years, including the gender studies program, which survived an attempt to abolish it during the same budget talks that defunded the DEI office.
But without funding, UW closed the office and the hard-line Freedom Caucus got the trophy it wanted to brag about before the August GOP primary. It won enough House races in 2024 to take over the chamber the following year.
It wasn’t done with DEI. The caucus started the 2025 legislative session with its “Five-and-Dime Plan,” which had a plank to further restrict DEI activities.
So, here we are in 2026, and the Freedom Caucus is targeting UW’s budget. In addition to the $40 million block grant reduction, the JAC cut state funding for Wyoming Public Media, $12.5 million in matching state money for fundraising and $6 million from the Athletics Department.
The caucus telegraphed its next move when the JAC’s co-chair, Rep. John Bear of Gillette, told WyoFile the budget cuts are meant to curb “an increase in administration” and “woke education” at UW. The Missouri native and University of Colorado graduate said he believes the university has turned against a “Wyoming way of life.”
Bear indicated he’s working on potential budget footnotes that target the use of state funds for particular curricula.
I’m not above reminding y’all that I saw this coming two years ago when I wrote, “UW President Ed Seidel vowed academic freedom will be protected. But when the Legislature casually guts funding of DEI and related activities, how long will it be before the Freedom Caucus insists on regulating college curricula? Why wouldn’t the university also fall in line with those demands?”
The only thing that could keep the caucus from launching a full assault on UW before the election is a loud public outcry now, especially from conservative alumni willing to speak up.
There’s still time to keep the Legislature from using the budget to demand what courses will be taught — or banned — on UW’s campus. But the Freedom Caucus wants another notch in its belt for sticking it to the university before the August primary, when it could add seats or lose its House control.
In a campus-wide email after JAC’s cuts were made, Seidel noted UW is informing legislators about the potential impacts of a reduction of this magnitude.
“We have hope that the decision-makers will recognize, as did the governor, that such a cut … would be both harmful and unnecessary, especially considering the lack of a financial crisis for state government,” Seidel wrote.
Yep, I’m sure the Freedom Caucus is quaking in its boots because UW plans to discuss its plight with other lawmakers to win them over. This bunch will do anything it can to torch classes and programs it doesn’t like, and after its success closing the DEI office, why would it ever back down?
UW’s administration has no control over the situation. The caucus has a veto-proof majority in the House and isn’t afraid of the governor.
The only thing that could keep the caucus from launching a full assault on UW before the election is a loud public outcry now, especially from conservative alumni willing to speak up.
Seidel isn’t helping when he says lawmakers have legitimate concerns, such as “whether or not universities across the country have liberal environments, and therefore conservative voices are suppressed.”
Mr. President, I can assure you that conservative voices aren’t suppressed in Wyoming, and in fact dominate almost every issue at the Legislature. There’s no need to be sympathetic or provide more ammunition to their cause; they already have your campus surrounded.
It’s time to call on students, faculty, staff and alumni to get organized for the upcoming legislative session and the next election.