About

The Year of Water is a university-led, statewide initiative to convey the connectedness of water – where it comes from, where it goes, and why we should care. The Year of Water not only highlights the role Oregon’s research universities play as community and industry leaders and partners seeking to understand and address water-related challenges, but also leverages the work of many of Oregon’s public higher education institutions and showcases events of organizations working on behalf of water.

Through this initiative, we aspire to leverage and foster water collaborations within and outside of the universities; increase awareness and coordination to discover synergies across the universities; promote water literacy; and broaden the collective impact and benefits of our work.

This site was created by Gareth Baldrica-Franklin, Lisa Gaines, and Janine Salwasser.

Leading Units

Oregon State University

● College of Liberal Arts
● Extension Service
● Hydrophiles
● Institute for Natural Resources (sponsor)
● Institute for Water and Watersheds (sponsor)
● OSU Libraries and Press
● Water Conflict Management and Transformation Program
● Water Resources Graduate Program

Portland State University

● College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Deans’ Office (sponsor)
● Department of Environmental Science and Management
● Department of Geography
● Institute for Natural Resources
● USGS-PSU Partnership (this includes OHSU)

University of Oregon

● Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies
● Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center @ UO Law School
● Institute for Sustainable Environment
● Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (sponsor)