The water resources management (WRM) program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies began amidst a budding international interest throughout the 1950s in interdisciplinary approaches to managing water.
A planning committee composed of Professors Fred Clarenbach, Henry Hart, and Arno Lenz began the formal process by proposing a river basin and watershed planning course in the early 1960s. The success of this endeavor led to creation of the WRM program in 1965.
Initially, WRM was housed in the College of Engineering, and in 1972–73 the WRM faculty committee voted to affiliate with new Institute for Environmental Studies (now Nelson Institute), becoming its first graduate program.
For the first several years, an interdisciplinary river basin planning seminar led annually by program faculty served as the common and essential element for WRM students. That shifted in 1971 with the advent of the WRM summer practicum experience, which has continued as a defining characteristic of the program ever since.
WRM Program Faculty Chairs
- 1965–1968: Professor Fred Clarenbach (political science/urban and regional planning) (deceased)
- 1968–1974: Professor Dave Stephenson (geology)
- 1974–1975: Professor Charles Falkner (industrial engineering) (deceased)
- 1975–1977: Professor Dave Stephenson (geology)
- 1977–1980: Professor Henry Hart (political science)
- 1980–1983: Professor Erhard Joeres (civil and environmental engineering/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1983–1984: Professor Steve Born (urban and regional planning/Institute for Environmental Studies) (served interim year)
- 1984–1988: Professor Erhard Joeres (civil and environmental engineering/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1988–1990: Professor Steve Born (urban and regional planning/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1990–1992: Professor Dave Mickelson (geology/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1992–1995: Professor Ken Potter (civil and environmental engineering/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1995–1999: Professor Jean Bahr (geology/Institute for Environmental Studies)
- 1999–2004: Professor Fred Madison (soil science/Nelson Institute) (deceased)
- 2004–2007: Professor Linda Graham (botany/Nelson Institute)
- 2007–2015: Professor Ken Potter (civil and environmental engineering/Nelson Institute)
- 2015–2023: Professor Anita Thompson (BSE/Nelson Institute)
- 2024–present: Professor Ken Genskow (urban and regional planning/Nelson Institute) (also served as interim chair for spring/summer 2023)
WRM Program Graduate Coordinators
For the first 15 years of WRM, a variety of administrative support staff and graduate assistants helped to coordinate the program and student advisory activities. These included WRM alumni Brent Petrie MS’74 and Jack Connelly MS’78, plus program secretaries Lois Klingele, Betty U’Ren, Bev Helms, and Jane Roberts. Beginning in 1980, Barbara Borns became the program’s full-time graduate program coordinator. Jim Miller has held that role since Borns’ retirement in 2003.
WRM Program Committee Members
A long slate of UW–Madison faculty have served as members of the WRM program committee, as well as on individual advisory committees for each student. An archival project is underway to compile a list of all who have served.
Students
As of spring 2025, more than 840 graduates have earned their master of science degree in water resources management at UW–Madison.