Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Wyoming Catholic College
Wyoming Catholic College (WCC) is a private Catholic college in Lander, Wyoming, United States. WCC is the only Catholic college or university in the state. It is notable for its extensive outdoor education program, requiring all freshmen students to complete a 21-day backpacking trip, and engage in other outdoor activities while studying a great-books academic curriculum.
In 2003, then-bishop of Wyoming David Ricken expressed interest in having a Catholic college in Wyoming. Together with a parish priest of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Robert Cook, and Robert Carlson, a Wyoming college professor and a former student of John Senior, the bishop began forming plans to found the college. In 2004 and 2005, Lander Wyoming was selected as the location, and Carlson wrote the philosophical vision statement of the college. On July 11, 2005, Wyoming Catholic College incorporated in the state of Wyoming with Cook as president and Carlson as academic dean.
In 2014, the college became a candidate for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). During this time, the college's leadership decided to forgo access to federal funding. According to Inside Higher Ed, this decision was "partly out of concerns that accepting the funds could impair its ability to set its own policies around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity," and as of 2023, the college's website described this decision as being largely motivated by a concern that accepting this funding would allow the government to impose on the college's hiring and admission policies, such as birth control and same-sex marriage. In an interview with Wyoming Public Radio, college president Kevin Roberts clarified that the college was specifically concerned about harassment from outside special interest groups, particularly with regards to Title IX policies for single-gender housing and restroom facilities. Roberts was also a notable opponent to the Affordable Care Act, suing the state of Wyoming over implementing the program.
WCC achieved full accreditation status from HLC in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WCC received $1.3 million in aid, including a $739,000 PPP loan, which has been forgiven.
In 2020 Paul McCown, a former Michigan politician and the school's chief financial officer (CFO) of two years, launched the distillery Sweetwater Spirits, which switched to producing hand sanitizer at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021 he used claims of wealth from this business to secure a $15 million loan from investment firm Ria R Squared, before anonymously donating two-thirds of those funds to the college. McCown also received $2 million in federally backed PPP loans, and was fired by the school in June 2021 when his fraudulent activity was discovered. A subsequent internal investigation led to the dismissal of the school's director of horsemanship because of payments made with McCown's approval. Although plans for expansion utilizing the $10 million donation were underway, WCC's President Arbery stated that "the setback to the college’s expansion plans did not pose an actual threat to the institution's financial stability". Wyoming Catholic College initially stated that it would return the entire sum to Ria R Squared once it completed an internal investigation into the alleged fraud. On December 6, 2021, Ria R Squared sued Wyoming Catholic College, alleging that the college had not yet returned a portion of that sum (totaling $239,154), and that the college’s counsel had told Ria R Squared that it no longer intended to return the sum.
The college is located in an area within the Rocky Mountains, in the town of Lander, Wyoming. The college campus consists of multiple facilities around the town of Lander, mostly in the downtown area.
The Downtown Campus comprises several historic buildings of downtown Lander, including:
Located on the property of the diocesan parish of Holy Rosary in Lander, this "campus" includes a number of the residence halls. The college occasionally uses the parish church for special occasions, like graduation. In the first years of the college, some of the parish facilities were used as classrooms.
Hub AI
Wyoming Catholic College AI simulator
(@Wyoming Catholic College_simulator)
Wyoming Catholic College
Wyoming Catholic College (WCC) is a private Catholic college in Lander, Wyoming, United States. WCC is the only Catholic college or university in the state. It is notable for its extensive outdoor education program, requiring all freshmen students to complete a 21-day backpacking trip, and engage in other outdoor activities while studying a great-books academic curriculum.
In 2003, then-bishop of Wyoming David Ricken expressed interest in having a Catholic college in Wyoming. Together with a parish priest of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Robert Cook, and Robert Carlson, a Wyoming college professor and a former student of John Senior, the bishop began forming plans to found the college. In 2004 and 2005, Lander Wyoming was selected as the location, and Carlson wrote the philosophical vision statement of the college. On July 11, 2005, Wyoming Catholic College incorporated in the state of Wyoming with Cook as president and Carlson as academic dean.
In 2014, the college became a candidate for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). During this time, the college's leadership decided to forgo access to federal funding. According to Inside Higher Ed, this decision was "partly out of concerns that accepting the funds could impair its ability to set its own policies around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity," and as of 2023, the college's website described this decision as being largely motivated by a concern that accepting this funding would allow the government to impose on the college's hiring and admission policies, such as birth control and same-sex marriage. In an interview with Wyoming Public Radio, college president Kevin Roberts clarified that the college was specifically concerned about harassment from outside special interest groups, particularly with regards to Title IX policies for single-gender housing and restroom facilities. Roberts was also a notable opponent to the Affordable Care Act, suing the state of Wyoming over implementing the program.
WCC achieved full accreditation status from HLC in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WCC received $1.3 million in aid, including a $739,000 PPP loan, which has been forgiven.
In 2020 Paul McCown, a former Michigan politician and the school's chief financial officer (CFO) of two years, launched the distillery Sweetwater Spirits, which switched to producing hand sanitizer at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021 he used claims of wealth from this business to secure a $15 million loan from investment firm Ria R Squared, before anonymously donating two-thirds of those funds to the college. McCown also received $2 million in federally backed PPP loans, and was fired by the school in June 2021 when his fraudulent activity was discovered. A subsequent internal investigation led to the dismissal of the school's director of horsemanship because of payments made with McCown's approval. Although plans for expansion utilizing the $10 million donation were underway, WCC's President Arbery stated that "the setback to the college’s expansion plans did not pose an actual threat to the institution's financial stability". Wyoming Catholic College initially stated that it would return the entire sum to Ria R Squared once it completed an internal investigation into the alleged fraud. On December 6, 2021, Ria R Squared sued Wyoming Catholic College, alleging that the college had not yet returned a portion of that sum (totaling $239,154), and that the college’s counsel had told Ria R Squared that it no longer intended to return the sum.
The college is located in an area within the Rocky Mountains, in the town of Lander, Wyoming. The college campus consists of multiple facilities around the town of Lander, mostly in the downtown area.
The Downtown Campus comprises several historic buildings of downtown Lander, including:
Located on the property of the diocesan parish of Holy Rosary in Lander, this "campus" includes a number of the residence halls. The college occasionally uses the parish church for special occasions, like graduation. In the first years of the college, some of the parish facilities were used as classrooms.