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<br />Distinguished Visitor Program builds bridges for water students
<br />As part of University of Minnesota's larg-
<br />estinterdisciplinary graduate program,
<br />Water Resources Science (WRS) students
<br />hail from more than twelve academic
<br />units across the University's Twin Cities
<br />and Duluth campuses. The breadth of the
<br />program's student base ranging from
<br />civil engineering to forest resources to
<br />economics-is testament to water science's
<br />popularity. But popularity also presents a
<br />challenge in terms of community building
<br />for nearly 80 students across rivo campuses.
<br />"Creating and maintaining WRS student
<br />and faculty identity and interaction has been
<br />a challenge with the many other compet-
<br />ing departmental, collegiate and university
<br />time demands," said Ray Newman, director
<br />of the WRS graduate studies program.
<br />"We are looking to build a program that is
<br />academically rewarding, as well as to foster
<br />community among students and faculty on
<br />both campuses."
<br />Last spring, with a $10,000 grant from the
<br />University's Graduate School, WRS kicked
<br />off its Distinguished Visitor Program, an
<br />initiative designed to bring its students
<br />and faculty together in a series of engaging
<br />lectures, workshops, poster sessions and
<br />retreats built around a nationally recog-
<br />nized speaker. Speakers were selected for
<br />their broad appeal and were scheduled for
<br />multiple appearances on both Twin Cities
<br />and Duluth campuses.
<br />In April, the program hosted three days
<br />of lectures and information sessions with
<br />Michael Pace, professor of environmen-
<br />tal science at the University of Virginia,
<br />and John Downing, professor of ecology,
<br />evolution and organismal biology at Iowa
<br />State University. This past fall, the program
<br />sponsored two days of events with Jorg
<br />Imberger, director of the Centre for Water
<br />Research at the University of Western
<br />Australia.
<br />"Interaction among WRS graduate students
<br />and Faculty can be challenging due to
<br />diverse research interests and the non-cen-
<br />tralized nature of our program," said WRS
<br />student Jessica Eichmiller, who also served
<br />on the program's steering committee. "But
<br />the Distinguished Visitor Program had
<br />broad enough appeal to attract the involve-
<br />ment of W RS students system-wide. It was
<br />a terrific, life-changing opportunity to see
<br />how our work comes together on a common
<br />theme."
<br />Wetlands conference analyzes Minnesota's wetland policies
<br />Discussion of proper care of Minnesota's
<br />wetlands requires the meeting of many
<br />disciplines and minds. On January 21,
<br />the second Annual Minnesota Wetlands
<br />Conference hosted nearly 240 attendees on
<br />the St. Paul Campus. Participants learned
<br />about wetland mitigation and discussed
<br />whether Minnesota is reducing the loss
<br />of wetlands throughout the state and in
<br />the Midwest. The event was hosted by the
<br />Minnesota Wetland Delineator Certifica-
<br />tion Program (WDCP) and the Minnesota
<br />Wetland Professionals Association (WPA).
<br />Speakers included Karli Swenson and Carol
<br />Strojny from the Board of Water and Soil
<br />Resources (BWSR); Joe Schaffer from Min-
<br />nesota Native Landscaping; Sarah Stai from
<br />Westwood Professionals Association; Dr,
<br />Susan Galatowitsch from UM -Twin Cities,
<br />FY
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<br />Conference attendees listen to a presentation.
<br />Dr. Joy Zedler from UW-
<br />Madison; Dr. Chev Kellogg from
<br />the Minnesota Department of
<br />Natural Resources (MDNR);
<br />and R}pan Boe and Linda Fischer
<br />fi-om the law office of Larkin,
<br />Hoffman, Daly, & Lindgren,
<br />Ltd. The speakers offered varied
<br />perspectives of complex wetland
<br />mitigations. Themes discussed
<br />were: the status of the Wetland
<br />Bank Program in Minnesota, the
<br />most common problems across
<br />the state, a contractor's role in
<br />mitigation, buffers, reed canary
<br />grass, concepts of wetland func-
<br />tions, and liabilities and permits.
<br />Vendors From around Minnesota set up
<br />booths and provided information, resourc-
<br />es, and tools for successful wetland delinea-
<br />tions and mitigation. The WPA honored
<br />recently retired Greg Larson (BWSR) with
<br />their annual leadership award. Les Lemm,
<br />BWSR; Mark Gernes, Minnesota Pollution
<br />Control Agency; Doug Norris, MDNR; and
<br />Steve Eggers, US Army Corps of Engineers;
<br />summarized the main points and answered
<br />conference goers' questions in a wrap-up of
<br />the conference.
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<br />Elizabeth Wells, WRC/SWC program spe-
<br />cialist and one of the conference coordina-
<br />tors, was pleased with the outcome. "This
<br />year we had more speakers, and vve varied
<br />the time intervals for each, keeping things
<br />energized and offering a variety of points of
<br />view. Our speakers and conference attend-
<br />ees ranged from contractors and consul-
<br />tants to government employees, educators,
<br />students, and legal advisors. I think this
<br />was a great opportunity for our attendees
<br />to network and discover ideologies outside
<br />their own work environments."
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