After 10 years of serving as director for the Water Resources Center (WRC), Jeff Peterson bids farewell as he transitions to a full-time faculty position in the Department of Applied Economics. From the integration of the multiple new programs to helping create the most recent strategic plan, Jeff has had a strong impact on the WRC and will surely be missed by many. We asked him a few questions about his time as director.
How has your role of WRC Director evolved since you started?
Before I started, the WRC had always been led by two co-directors, one of them overseeing research and graduate education, while the other focused on Extension and professional training. Around 2014, with upcoming retirements of both co-directors expected in the next few years, the Deans took the opportunity to update that structure. Their new model was a leadership team with a single director who would be accountable for all aspects of the Center and would be closely supported by an associate director. Starting into a leadership position that had not existed before felt exciting to me but it was also a little intimidating. With the history in mind, I view a key function of WRC leadership as integrating the research, education, and Extension functions across our various programs. A closely related function is to support all our distinct programs with the autonomy they need to flourish, while also building a cohesive organization to which all our members feel a strong connection. In my experience, this work is more of an ongoing commitment than a one-time project.
What WRC activities or programs are you most proud of creating or facilitating?
Acknowledging that most of the credit goes to my WRC colleagues, I am immensely proud to have worked with the teams who launched and built several successful programs. These include the Minnesota Stormwater Research Program, the Minnesota Office for Soil Health, and the Watershed Innovations grants program. I am equally proud to have worked with longtime programs that expanded and evolved in impactful ways, notably the Onsite Sewage Treatment Program and numerous activities within the Extension Water Resources Program team.
How has the role of Extension changed at the WRC during your time as director?
The Extension water program team has grown dramatically over the last decade. Several key actors set these changes in motion, starting with Extension leadership deciding to affiliate the team with the WRC just before I arrived. Previously, the Extension Educators on that team often worked with the WRC but had no formal connection to it. When I started, Faye Sleeper became both WRC associate director and the supervisor of the water program Extension Educators. Faye did a lot of important work to integrate the team into the WRC family, while maintaining their clear and strong affiliation with Extension. After Faye retired and Joel Larson took the same position, he and the team built on that foundation and demonstrated the successes of integrating WRC-led research with Extension programming. We also aligned all the research and Extension efforts with the focus areas in the WRC’s 2018 strategic plan. Following those early successes and an agreed plan, further investments from multiple sources expanded the team with more Extension educator positions. Thanks to the excellent people we have been able to hire, the team has a robust (and still-growing) programming to reach the relevant audiences in all of our focus areas.
The WRC earned an "outstanding" rating in 2020 from a review of water institutes. From your perspective, what makes the WRC outstanding?
My short answer to this question is that the WRC has outstanding people who do outstanding work. My longer answer elaborates a bit on: (1) what makes the work outstanding and (2) why the work of these particular individuals are organized into a single center (as opposed to being dispersed across various departments or other units). On the first point, the evaluators saw high-impact work being done on an unusually broad range of water issues. The WRC’s work addresses the water-related needs of the varied groups, sectors, and geographies in Minnesota. The second point relates to deep historical roots that have brought about the WRC’s current structure, a full explanation of which would require book-length treatment (and yes I really think someone should write that book). Clearly, a key element here is our unique intercollegiate status. Being part of CFANS as well as University of Minnesota Extension gives the WRC not only multiple sources of internal support, but the ability to create synergies across research, education, and Extension functions. These synergies are the secret sauce that attracted additional support from federal, state, and other sources.
What are some of your favorite memories about working at the WRC?
I have many fond memories of working in the WRC. I enjoyed our informal gatherings, such as potluck lunches following our staff meeting and the summer barbecues. In the somewhat more formal setting of our staff meetings, we have a regular segment when someone in the WRC shares some of their recent work and discusses it with the WRC staff. I have greatly enjoyed these presentations and the ensuing discussions. It’s especially gratifying when those conversations lead to some kind of new connection across different programs. Another set of memories are the privilege I had of traveling to Capitol Hill and sharing the successes of the Center with Congressional offices. Lastly, I will remember the innumerable discussions with my WRC colleagues to hash out questions, problems, plans, and tasks— often mixed with sharing some weekend activity, travel story, or some weird thing that happened. Those memories are indistinct and interwoven, but collectively they probably leave the biggest impression of all.
What will you miss the most?
Working day-to-day with everyone in the WRC.
What do you look forward to the most about returning back to full-time faculty?
I’m looking forward to deep dives into some of my accumulated research questions. I am equally excited about developing Extension programming connected to my research, which will be one way to stay connected with many of the folks I have gotten to know during my time at the WRC. I also look forward to classroom teaching and advising graduate students, which was always one of my favorite things about being a faculty member.
Any additional thoughts you would like to include?
I look forward to being a WRC cheerleader as you continue your great work.