The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the Milwaukee 7 Water Council are joining forces to train students to work in water-related industries, officials announced Tuesday.
Starting this fall, students in the university’s existing Integrated Science-Business Major can specialize in water management — a sequence that aims to give students a basic background in water law, environmental law, natural resources and environmental economics as well as aquatic biology, chemistry and ecology.
The program will begin enrolling students this fall. It could graduate its first water resource specialists within a year because many students have already taken relevant courses, said Kirsten Crossgrove, associate professor of biology at UW-Whitewater and coordinator of the school’s Integrated Science-Business Major.
Students will serve internships with the Water Council, an organization that is working to establish the Milwaukee region as a global center for freshwater research, economic development and education.