Approved for creation in August 2007 by the WCU board of trustees, WCU’s new Institute for Watershed Research and Management (IWRM) is set to bring together scientists, policymakers, economic development experts, natural resource managers and other interested parties in an effort to preserve regional water resources while trying to ensure economic prosperity.

Formation of the institution is especially timely in the face of the skyrocketing pace of development in Western North Carolina and beyond, said Jerry Miller, the Whitmire Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science at WCU, who will oversee the institute.  “The new Institute for Watershed Research and Management was created to promote the development of sustainable watershed management practices in Western North Carolina, the state and the nation.”

The institute will encourage collaborative research by faculty, students and staff from a variety of programs, including geosciences and natural resources management, environmental health, biology, chemistry and physics, anthropology and sociology, construction management, Cherokee studies, computer sciences, and political science and public affairs.

The institute’s activities also will be aligned closely with Western’s Quality Enhancement Plan. A requirement for institutional reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Western’s QEP is designed to help students connect their educational experiences to the region through service learning projects and internships that help solve regional problems.

“We expect to establish many avenues for undergraduate and graduate students to obtain hands-on, real-life experiences related to watershed science; to help identify funding to support new and ongoing research related to watershed rehabilitation, management and policy; and to work with local, state and federal agencies to promote the rapid transfer of sound management solutions and policies into everyday practice,” Miller said.