Wallop Papers and Spirit Preserved At U-W

Elements of the legacy of the late Former U.S. Senator, Malcolm Wallop, will be preserved by the University of Wyoming and the American Heritage Center.

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Leslie Waggener, archivist for the University's Alan K. Simpson Institute for Western Politics and Leadership says nearly 300 boxes of Wallops personal papers were donated by him to the institute over ten years ago.

"And its an interesting set of papers, because it was an interesting time for Wyoming politics in that we were in at the time when Malcom was there and Senator Simpson and Dick Cheney. Wyoming was influential."

Wallop, who was in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1995, was especially known for his influence in the arenas of national defense and tax reform.

Waggener says the Simpson Institute focuses on preserving and making available papers of outstanding business and political leaders in Wyoming.

Another initiative launched last year is the Malcolm Wallop Fund for Conversations on Democracy, which Waggener says, came about as an idea from former staffers.

"A group of very dedicated former staffers and they wanted to honor their boss."

They did so by establishing a fund that's used to host panel discussions, keynote speakers and other programs on American and international perspectives on democracy.

A recent program looked at emerging democracies in North Africa and the Middle East and featured conversation with U-W Students from Egypt, Libya and Iraq.

Malcolm Wallop died Wednesday September 14th at the age of 78 at his ranch near Big Horn.

The Former Senator will lie in state at the Capital this week before funeral services are held in Sheridan on Thursday.