UW Board of Trustees to Meet Nov. 20-22

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees will consider a draft rule to allow the concealed carry of firearms in university facilities during the board's regular meeting Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 20-22.

The meeting will take place at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. Public sessions of the board and its committees may be observed by the public at https://wyolinks.uwyo.edu/trusteesnov24/.

The draft rule is expected to be posted on the board's website by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. Among other details, it would require a concealed weapons permit for a weapon to be carried and would exclude some parts of campus from concealed carry.

UW's current Regulation 6-4 prevents "dangerous weapons" from being carried in university facilities, with exemptions granted by the UW Police Department on a case-by-case basis if the requester has a legitimate security concern and firearms training. Changes are being considered in light of Gov. Mark Gordon's directive to the university, community colleges and school districts to "take up these difficult conversations again and establish policies that allow for the safe carry of concealed weapons within their facilities."

The Board of Trustees is scheduled to take up the issue at 11:45 a.m. Nov. 21, following an 11:15 a.m. public comment period on that topic. Those wishing to address the board in person are asked to arrive early and register via a sign-in sheet located in the Gateway Center lobby. Written comment can be submitted here and will be shared with the board in advance of the November meeting. Public comment is limited to three minutes per person and is subject to the discretion of the board's chairman.

To start the three days of board meetings, committees of the board will meet Wednesday in several rooms of the Gateway Center, starting with the Facilities Contracting Committee at 8 a.m.

Thursday's session will begin with a 7:30 a.m. visit to UW's Science Initiative Building to see the newly constructed Student Collaborative Research, Outreach and Learning Laboratory, along with the Model Organism Research Facility, research labs, support rooms and faculty offices.

Among the issues scheduled for discussion Thursday afternoon are the Tier-1 Engineering Initiative and the Trustees Education Initiative.

Friday will start with a joint session of UW's Board of Trustees and the UW Energy Resources Council at 7:30 a.m. at Laramie's Hilton Garden Inn, before the trustees return to the Gateway Center to resume their meeting.

The trustees' complete agenda, along with a report that includes background information on agenda items, will be available at www.uwyo.edu/trustees/2024-meeting-agendas-materials-and-minutes/november-20-22-2024-meeting.html.