Central Wyoming College

Central Wyoming College, doing business as Fremont County Community College District, is a tax-exempt state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Riverton, Wyoming, that serves as a federal grant recipient (69% prime recipient, 31% sub-recipient) in STEM and workforce development education, with no prime federal contracts and no federal contract vehicles. The college operates as a two-year rural comprehensive community college serving underrepresented and underserved populations, including American Indian, Hispanic/Latinx, and first-generation students across Fremont County and regional satellite locations including Jackson, Wyoming.

The college's federal grant footprint centers on the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (20 awards) and the Office of Career Technical and Adult Education (7 awards), with secondary engagement from the National Science Foundation (4 awards), the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (4 awards), and the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (3 awards) — these top five agencies account for 62% of all awards. Recent prime grant work includes a $999,881 National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education award (CFDA 47.076) running through July 2028 for development and delivery of a Geospatial Information Science and Technology (GIST) curriculum emphasizing programming, data management, spatial analysis, and paid internships with recruitment pathways targeting secondary students and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes; a $1.235 million Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education award under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) program (December 2021 through December 2024) supporting "Extending Impact: Postsecondary Career Pathways Through to Meaningful Employment" career pathways programming; and a 24-month planning grant from the Department of Agriculture's Institute of Youth, Family, and Community (August 2026 through August 2028) for co-designing an agricultural curriculum roadmap that bridges K-12 vocational agriculture with agribusiness degree tracks, addressing barriers to entry for rural and Indigenous agriculturalists through land-lean business modules including show cattle and niche livestock markets.

In its subrecipient role, Central Wyoming College participates in multi-institution consortium awards including the University of Wyoming's Wyoming IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program (biomedical research, laboratory equipment, undergraduate mentored research and stipends); the University of Wyoming's GEAR UP Wyoming program (helping high school students qualify for the Hathaway Scholarship and transition to postsecondary education); Colorado State University's NSF STEM programs for underrepresented minority student enrollment and retention through bridge programs, research experiences, and retention support; and the Wyoming Department of Education's Perkins V postsecondary and career technical education professional development grants. Recent sub-awards include the University of Wyoming's Wyoming Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (September 2026) and the "Mineral Dust Research in Nevada, Oklahoma, and Wyoming" program (October 2025), under which Central Wyoming College develops and operates an immersive STEM student internship program with geospatial data management and remote sensing focus.

Activity volume has grown substantially: four awards in 2022, two in 2023, three in 2024, twelve in 2025, and five in 2026 year-to-date. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $71.7 million. Only three awards reach ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months, indicating stable funding through 2027–2028 across the prime grant portfolio. The college's grant activity targets workforce pipeline development, STEM education and curriculum innovation, adult education and literacy, and equity in access to postsecondary education and training, with emphasis on rural Wyoming, tribal partnerships, and underrepresented student populations.