After careful consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Universities Council on Water Resources Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel our in-person 2020 UCOWR/NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference. The health, safety, and well-being of our attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and staff are our number one priority. A full-refund will be provided to registrants and exhibitors to the conference. Please cancel any existing room reservations with the Graduate Hotel, Minneapolis. We are planning to host select components of the conference virtually this Summer and Fall including a webinar with plenary speaker Sharon Megdal and topical roundtable discussions. We anticipate returning to Minneapolis for our 2022 annual conference. We are excited to begin planning our 2021 conference in Greenville, SC, scheduled for June 8-10.
News
UCOWR Board of Directors Election Results
UCOWR would like to congratulate the newly elected Board members for 2020-2021. Thank you to all the Delegates who voted and those that ran for election.
Meet your new Board members:
JCWRE Paper of the Year announced!
Congratulations to the authors of the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education Paper of the Year. The award goes to Amit Pradhananga, Mae Davenport, and Emily Green of the University of Minnesota for their manuscript titled Cultural Narratives on Constraints to Community Engagement in Urban Water Restoration. You can read the manuscript here. This annual award recognizes an article published in the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education that is a significant contribution to the field of water resources research, policy, and/or education.
Summer Course Offering: Water Conflict Management and Transformation
Course: Water Conflict Management and Transformation (WRP 521; CRN 71574)
Instructors: Aaron Wolf & Lynette de Silva
Institution: Oregon State University
Credits: 3 Graduate Credits
Dates: 15-22 June, 2020
Please note that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this course will not be offered on campus, but will be delivered utilizing:
- Zoom for live, interactive lectures delivered over a 3-4hr timeframe each day (with several refreshment breaks);
- Breakout interactive Zoom forums for group activities;
- An instrumental platform for discussion board forums, and as a repository for films, the free electronic textbook and other resources; and of course,
- Zoom for participants role-play in a fictitious river basin negotiation.
Course Description: This course offers an opportunity for water resources professionals and graduate students to learn about current and leading-edge ways to work effectively in contentious water situations. It explores conflict tolerance, prevention, management, and transformation through collaborative structures as well as through models of negotiation and dialogue.
We hope you’ll join us!
For registration information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ycbw42jg
For additional information, contact: Lynette de Silva at desilval@geo.oregonstate.edu
2020 Warren A. Hall Medal awarded to Sharon Megdal
UCOWR awards the 2020 Warren A. Hall Medal to Sharon B. Megdal of The University of Arizona Water Resources Center.
Congratulations Sharon!
Dr. Sharon Megdal has been a vital and active member of UCOWR for several years, including service as a Board Member and President. She was also featured in our Member Spotlight (https://ucowr.org/spotlight/september-2016-sharon-megdal/). Please join UCOWR in congratulating Sharon Megdal on this distinguished lifetime achievement award in water resources. To learn more about the Warren A. Hall Medal, please visit https://ucowr.org/awards/warren-a-hall-medal/.
Sharon B. Megdal is Director of The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), a Cooperative Extension center and a research unit in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her work focuses on water policy and management, on which she writes and frequently speaks. She also holds the titles: Professor and Specialist, Department of Environmental Science; C.W. & Modene Neely Endowed Professor; and Distinguished Outreach Professor.
The geographic scope of Dr. Megdal’s work ranges from local to international. Projects include: comparative evaluation of water management, policy, and governance in water-scarce regions; groundwater recharge; and transboundary aquifer assessment. She is the lead editor of the book, Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Israeli-Palestinian and Colorado River Basin Water Challenges. Her policy columns and Reflections can be found at https://wrrc.arizona.edu/director. Dr. Megdal teaches the multi-disciplinary graduate course “Water Policy in Arizona and Semi-arid Regions.”
Sharon Megdal serves as Board President of the International Arid Lands Consortium and Board Member of American Water Resources Association. She also represents the residents of Pima County on the elected Board of Directors for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, also known as the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The CAP delivers Colorado River water to Central Arizona. Dr. Megdal has served on numerous Arizona boards and commissions, including the Arizona Corporation Commission, the State Transportation Board, and the Arizona Medical Board. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University.
2021 Conference Dates and Venue Announced!
Save the date!
The 2021 UCOWR/NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference will be held June 8–10, 2021 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, SC.
Check out all there is to do in beautiful Greenville!
