The University of Wyoming Cultural Programs was formed in 1986. It grew out of a UW Faculty Senate Committee known as the Cultural Affairs Committee. This committee was active prior to the early 1970s. The committee, usually chaired by a professor from the Department of Music, arranged for a few performers to come to UW each year. In 1980, Cedric “Ric” Reverand, a professor in the English Department, became the first chair of the committee not from the Music Department. In 1986, with the goal of providing more support to establish a steady and more robust concert series, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Walter Eggers, established a new program initially named Cultural Affairs. Cedric Reverand was named its first director, and soon after the name was changed to Cultural Programs. Reverand directed Cultural Programs until his retirement in 2013. He booked events through the 2014-1015 season. In 2017, and after a change in the organizational structure of the program, Cultural Programs became UW Presents. Events were held until March 2020, when the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The program was not reinstated.