Dr. Everett D. Lantz Memorial Scholarship

Having been raised in Laramie, Phil received a Naval ROTC Scholarship to attend the University of Colorado, Boulder where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960. He was commissioned in the Navy and served in submarines until 1964. He and his wife Paula returned to Laramie where he earned a Master of Arts in Mathematics in 1966 from the University of Wyoming.

In 1965, Phill accepted a position at The John Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory working on Navy strategic weapon systems. He went on to earn an advanced degree in Management Science from John Hopkins in 1972.

in 1972, Phil founded Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) where he served as President and CEO until January 2014. He continues as Chairman of the Board until he sold the company in 2016. SPA continues as a privately held professional services company supporting government decision makers in areas important to national security. Phil was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from UW in 2011 based on his professional achievements, his philanthropy, his service to UW, and his support for young professionals.

Everett and Elizabeth "Betty: Lantz, Phil’s parents, were UW alumni in the Class of 1936. Everett earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science and, in 1939, a Master of Arts in Secondary Education. Following a stellar athletic career at UW, earning nine letters, Everett was hired as an Assistant Football Coach, Head Wrestling Coach, and Instructor in Physical Education. He coached football for only 3 years but served as the wrestling coach for 29 years. While building UW into a national wrestling power, he helped found high school wrestling in Wyoming. During World War II, he served in the Navy, primarily in physical and military training for Naval Aviation Cadets. Everett was awarded the NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1960. He has been recognized twice in the Wyoming Athletic Hall of Fame.

Everett’s career went well beyond athletics. Throughout his 44-year career at UW he was a teacher. At first in Physical Education and, starting in about 1950, in the College of Education, where he rose to the rank of Professor and was Head of Education Foundations. In about 1954, he earned a Doctor of Education from UCLA. He received the Duke Humphrey Outstanding Faculty Award at UW and has been recognized by YW as a Distinguished Alumnus.

Betty Lantz, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secretarial Sciences and worked at the UW Library following her graduation, was a full member of the Lantz Team. She was not only a mother to her four children and a loving spouse, but she was also active with faculty wives, was a surrogate mother to a lot of wrestlers over 29 years and was always deeply involved with the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at UW. In 1997, she and Everett moved to Goodwin House, a retirement community in Alexandria, Virginia. At Goodwin House, she was an active member and community leader until her death. Everett passed away in 1998 and Betty passed away in 2014, at the age of 99.