COLLEGE STATION – The graduate water degree program at Texas A&M University has been given the 2006 Education and Public Service award from the Universities Council on Water Resources.
The award is given in recognition of exceptional education and public outreach in water resources, said Dr. Ronald Kaiser, program chair.
The award will be presented at the council’s conference on July 18-20 in Santa Fe, N.M.
The Texas A&M graduate program is an interdisciplinary program within the College of Geosciences.
The Universities Council is a consortium of more than 90 universities that facilitates water education, promotes research, and provides technical information on water problems and solutions.
The degree is unique in Texas, Kaiser said, because it is offered not by any one department or college but by a Texas A&M water faculty. Only a handful of universities in the U.S. have interdisciplinary programs in water research and education.
“Nearly 50 faculty from 11 different departments and disciplines and four colleges are involved in educating the next generation of water managers, hydrologists and water scientists,” he said.
“It is truly a faculty-led vision,” Kaiser said.
The program was designed by faculty who submitted the curriculum to the Texas A&M System Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
It was approved by the board of regents in 2004, and the first class was admitted in the fall of 2005. Those involved in the program appreciate the significance of the award, Kaiser said.
“This award ratifies our work and acknowledges its importance,” he said.
Further information on the water science program is available from http://waterprogram.tamu.edu .
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