When Christine Porter, a community health scholar, conducts research, she doesn’t like to sit in an ivory tower: She prefers to work directly with the communities and activists who live and breathe the health issues she’s investigating–like how justice, equity, sustainable food systems and food security are intertwined. If people have food security, that means they can’t reliably access enough affordable, nutritious food. In Wyoming, around 11% of households can’t provide enough food for one or more household members, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As the last state to enact laws against human trafficking in 2013, Wyoming was slow to come to the table. But in recent years, the state has stepped up efforts to assess the scope of the problem, as well as address the escalating violence against Native American women and children.

Coal is big business in Wyoming. In addition to providing jobs, this part of the fossil-fuel industry has contributed significantly to the state’s total revenue. But it’s also a smaller business than it used to be, with production having plunged nearly 50% between 2010 and 2020, in part because of the national transition to using more renewable energy.

LARAMIE, Wyo.— When President Ed Seidel arrived at the University of Wyoming in 2020, he confronted a myriad of challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic, budget cuts and an online campus. Two years later, Seidel is hitting his stride and working toward transforming UW into a top-flight research institution.

LARAMIE, Wyo.— President Ed Seidel arrived at the University of Wyoming in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, budget cuts and an online workplace. The timing was less than ideal. But Seidel persisted through the challenges and is now leading the charge to transform UW into a nationally recognized research institution.