Times are tough for Wyoming, and that extends to the University of Wyoming and the state’s seven community college districts. 

The university’s budget request of $160 million for the next biennium was trimmed down last fall by Gov. Matt Mead to just $60 million. 

Community colleges, including Northwest College, also are expecting significant state funding cuts in the years to come. 

And that all is happening at a time when college enrollment is likely to increase because of the downturn of the economy. As higher-paying oil and mineral jobs disappear, laid-off employees often seek education and training to qualify themselves for employment in different fields. 

As they face these challenges, it is good to know that Laurie Nichols, the new president chosen to lead the University of Wyoming, has pledged to partner with the community colleges. A cooperative and collaborative relationship will help the university and the colleges, thereby benefiting their students — and that’s the bottom line. 

Nichols noted during a public forum in Laramie last month that 60 percent of all University of Wyoming students began their post-secondary education at community colleges. 

“You’re way off the chart, far larger than anybody else,” she said. 

Therefore, any partnership between UW and the colleges is in students’ best interest at all those learning institutions. 

We’re pleased that Nichols was selected through an open, public process that involved UW faculty and employees and the Laramie community. 

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees learned some hard lessons four years ago when it chose to conduct its last presidential search behind closed doors, going so far as fighting a court battle and asking the Wyoming Legislature to pass a law allowing presidential searches at the university and the state’s community colleges to be conducted in secret.  

Unfortunately, the Legislature rushed to comply with that request, and we now have a state statute allowing the public to be completely shut out of the process. We believe that law, passed hurriedly for all the wrong reasons, should be repealed. 

That 2012-13 search, which resulted in the selection of former UW President Bob Sternberg, was marked with conflict and contention that continued throughout Sternberg’s short time — only 4 1/2 months — at the UW helm. 

The current UW President, Dick McGinity, then UW interim vice president for academic affairs, was chosen to fill in as interim UW president and eventually was hired to fill the position after Sternberg resigned. 

In stark contrast, the recently completed search that resulted in the hiring of Nichols was a collaborative process, with finalists making public presentations and meeting with UW faculty and employees. This search was marked with cooperation instead of contention, and Nichols’ selection has been welcomed.

During a visit to Powell this month, McGinity praised Nichols. 

“The new president ... has firsthand experience in every significant issue the university faces today, including the fiscal ones,” McGinity said. “The future is challenging, but we have a great start of making the university even better than it has been in spite of the fiscal challenges we face.”

McGinity also has been a champion for cooperation between UW and the colleges. 

He and UW trustee David Bostrom came to the Big Horn Basin this month as part of their effort to strategize with legislators and community college presidents across the state. 

“People feel a disconnect because Laramie is far away,” Bostrom said. “We want to let people know we are all available.”

We applaud McGinity’s leadership, and the UW board’s open selection process in hiring Nichols. We look forward to seeing the partnership between UW and the community colleges blossom — a process that already has begun here at Northwest College.