UW honors Bob Beck and Jay Kemmerer with honorary degrees

Bob Beck spent 34 years helping define Wyoming Public Radio, and Jay Kemmerer helped shape one of the state’s most visible outdoor businesses. The University of Wyoming will recognize both men with honorary doctoral degrees during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, putting two very different kinds of Wyoming influence at the center of campus celebration.

UW said the honorary degree is its highest award, reserved for people who reflect the university’s ideals through excellence, service and integrity. Nominations can come from alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students, then move through a joint committee of trustees and faculty before going to the full Board of Trustees. Michelle Sullivan, chair of the board, said honoring Kemmerer and Beck is “the ultimate way” the university shows thanks to people who have made UW, Wyoming and the world better.

For Albany County readers, Beck is a familiar name because his work reached far beyond the radio booth. He retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as news director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years, beginning in 1988. During that time, he co-created Open Spaces, which has won 11 Public Media Journalists Association honors, and helped lead a newsroom that collected more than 100 national, regional and state awards. He also covered the Wyoming Legislature longer than any other broadcaster in the state.

Beck’s reporting helped document some of Wyoming’s most painful and consequential public moments, including the murder of Matthew Shepard and the drunken-driving crash that killed eight University of Wyoming athletes. He also spent 20 years teaching broadcast news at UW, where he twice received the Mortar Board Top Prof award. Beyond campus and the newsroom, Beck served as president of the United Way board and co-chaired the 2009 Albany County United Way Campaign, tying his career to the civic life of Laramie as much as to state politics and public media.

Kemmerer’s recognition points to a different kind of legacy, one rooted in business, tourism and long-term investment in Wyoming’s recreation economy. The Kemmerers made a $5 million gift in 2024 to launch the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute, and UW said state matching funds pushed the project’s impact to more than $6 million. The institute focuses on outdoor recreation, tourism and hospitality, fields that shape jobs and development well beyond campus.

Kemmerer also remains a co-owner in the current ownership group of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The resort said the Kemmerer family sold the property after 31 years of ownership, following more than $300 million in capital improvements, but Kemmerer stayed involved as a board member and investor. For UW, honoring him underscores the kind of public-minded business leadership the university wants to hold up as commencement season begins and thousands of graduates prepare to enter Wyoming’s workforce and communities.