Full Version - Water for Food Institute - University of Nebraska

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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON WATER FOR FOOD 2
Chancellor’s Welcome
Water for Food: Imagining the Future
Harvey Perlman
Chancellor, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Harvey Perlman
The Robert B. Daugherty Foundation’s gift of
$50 million to establish the Water for Food
Institute, one of the largest gifts in University of
Nebraska history, could not be more timely or
important, Harvey Perlman said. The institute
will allow the university to leverage its strengths
and long-time expertise in research, policy
analysis and education in water and agriculture
to solve a critical world problem.
Efforts to advance food production are not always
universally acclaimed, Perlman said. Floyd E.
Dominy, who was born on a Nebraska farm
100 years ago and recently passed away, provides
one example. While working as an extension
agent in Wyoming, Dominy realized that building
small dams to store water would help farmers in
his region. He built more than 300 dams, more
than previously built in the entire West. Later, as
commissioner for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
he presided over the construction of many
prominent dams, including Glen Canyon and
Flaming Gorge. Dams were applauded for
generating power, creating lakes, providing
water for growing crops and expanding urban
areas. But they also were denounced for
destroying Native American historical sites,
ecosystems and fish habitats. “Dominy’s activities
on behalf of water for food remain clearly
controversial, and illustrate the inevitable
tradeoffs and competing demands made of our
water resources,” Perlman said.
The University of Nebraska, a longtime leader
in research, education and outreach in water,
agriculture and natural resources management,
offers the expertise and knowledge base to assume
a leadership position. Its expertise extends
beyond producing technologies and innovative
management practices to sociology, economics,
computer science, law and engineering – all
important to addressing these complex issues.
The university has doubled its research funding
in the past decade, enabling the leadership to
begin developing Nebraska Innovation Campus,
a premier private-public sector sustainable
research campus on 249 acres adjacent to the
university. The campus will provide exciting
opportunities for collaborative research and
product commercialization. Building on the
university’s strengths, the campus will focus
on water, food and fuel. The Water for Food
Institute will play an important role, sharing
many goals of developing sustainable solutions