Joint Appropriations Committee boosts UW funding ahead of budget session

The committee put funding for GA stipend increases, journal subscriptions and endowment matches back in the budget. Lawmakers also endorsed a $75 million pool of matching funds for energy research.

University of Wyoming leaders told the campus community last week they were “cautiously optimistic” about their state budget requests — all told, an ask of about $522 million.

As the Joint Appropriations Committee finished its work on UW’s portion of the state budget during a meeting Wednesday, it became clear this optimism was well placed.

UW’s budget, like the budget of every other state agency, will be vetted by lawmakers next month during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2024 Budget Session.

But the appropriations committee gets to write the budget bill that all other lawmakers will be debating, altering, rejecting and advancing — so its decisions carry significant weight.

And UW’s portion of the budget bill is looking strong, with most of its special requests still intact.

“Overall, (the committee’s) recommendations are very supportive of UW, including $3 million for GA stipends, $1 million for Library acquisitions, and $5 million for upgrading classroom technologies,” Provost Kevin Carman wrote in an email to campus Thursday.

UW’s original request included a standard budget of about $419 million, as well as nearly $103 million in exception requests for new or ongoing funding not included in the standard budget.

Governor Mark Gordon cut UW’s exceptions by about half, landing on an official recommendation that cut UW’s $522 million ask down to $468 million.

But the appropriations committee put a lot of those exception requests back in — some $70 million of UW’s requested $103 million — bringing UW’s portion of the budget bill up to about $489 million.

That’s less than UW originally requested, but more than the governor wanted to give it, and ultimately a significant chunk of what UW is seeking this session.

• UW requested $3 million for graduate assistant stipend increases. The governor recommended $0. The committee brought that back up to $3 million with a motion from Sen. Mike Gierau (SD-17).

• UW requested $20 million to match private donations. The governor recommended $5 million. The committee brought that up to $12 million with a motion from Rep. Clark Stith (HD-48).

• UW requested $2 million for Coe Library to help cover the skyrocketing cost of academic journal subscriptions. The governor recommended $0. The committee gave UW $1 million. “These journals, unfortunately, are expensive,” said Rep. Stith, who also brought the motion to put this funding back in. “Inflation is real. And I think professors have to be able to get access to online journals.”

• UW requested $20 million for various projects under the School of Energy Resources. The governor recommended $11 million and there was a hope that federal funds could help with some of the rest. SER requested an additional $3 million when it appeared before the appropriations committee, bringing its total request to $23 million. Ultimately, the committee approved all $23 million. That includes significant funding ($17 million) for a research project focused on bringing a coal-derived asphalt component to market, as well as $2 million for nuclear energy education. Sen. Jim Anderson (SD-28) brought motions for both the research project and the nuclear education piece.

In fact, the Joint Appropriations Committee reduced only one of the governor’s recommendations.

• UW requested $10 million for AI research. The governor reduced that to $5 million and the appropriations committee reduced that again to $2.5 million with a motion from Rep. Tom Walters (HD-38).

These figures are not set in stone.

The appropriations committee works with agency requests — and the governor’s recommendations about those requests — to craft the budget bill. But the committee doesn’t get the final say.

The numbers above reflect what will appear in that bill when it goes before the entire legislature next month. The legislature will then hammer out, modify and ultimately approve a state budget, which will guide the work of every state agency for the next two years.

Up to $75 million for Piri’s porous media research

Lawmakers serving on the Joint Appropriation Committee also approved up to $75 million in matching funds for research taking place in UW’s High Bay Research Facility.

Thermo Fisher is a longstanding biotech company that builds and provides equipment and other technology to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Last year, it settled a lawsuit with the family of Henrietta Lacks for the infamous and unauthorized use of her cells in the 1950s.

Thermo Fisher has committed to offering High Bay $75 million in in-kind contributions — such as the donation of equipment — if the state can match those donations with cash.

UW Professor Mohammad Piri was at the Joint Appropriations Committee’s meeting Wednesday. Piri conducts and oversees research into the flow of liquids through “porous media.” The cutting edge research could have implications for various scientific disciplines but is especially valuable to the oil and gas industry.

If Piri and his colleagues at High Bay can secure funding from both Thermo Fisher and the state, Piri said it would allow for the creation of a new division advancing our understanding of the way fluids move through 3D space.

“This new division will take the university's porous media center and the University of Wyoming and the state of Wyoming to an entirely new level in this area,” Piri told lawmakers.

Committee members grilled Piri and UW Board of Trustees Chair John McKinley about the request.

Several took issue with the timing. The proposal had not been vetted or approved by the UW Board and some lawmakers advocated pumping the brakes for a year to allow that process to take place.

McKinley laid out the timeline of Thermo Fisher’s offer, which was made in October — several months after the university had decided its budget for the year. McKinley added there was no deal for the board to consider or approve without first buy-in from the state.

Ultimately, the committee advanced the proposal. If it survives the session unchanged, UW will be able to draw from that $75 million over the next three summers so long as it’s matched by contributions from Thermo Fisher.

The money will come from the state’s energy matching funds, which were set aside in 2022 for projects such as this. Those funds are overseen by the governor and the Wyoming Energy Authority.