New director named for Water Resources Center

Anders W. Andren, director of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, has been selected to also serve as director of the UW-Madison Water Resources Center.

Andren, a professor of water chemistry, replaced Professor Gordon Chesters, who retired July 1 after more than 35 years of university service. Chesters had served as director of the Water Resources Center since 1972.

Graduate School Dean Virginia Hinshaw, who announced the move, said this shared administrative arrangement makes sense for two programs with highly complementary missions. “Andren’s experience as director of Sea Grant, coupled with his research expertise in water chemistry, makes him ideal for this position,” Hinshaw said.

To facilitate the change, Hinshaw also announced that the Sea Grant Institute, currently located at 1800 University Ave., will move early next year to Goodnight Hall, 1975 Willow Drive, where the Water Resources Center is located.

In accepting the appointment, Andren said that “the joining of Sea Grant and the Water Resources Center presents an excellent opportunity to coordinate scientific research and outreach on all of Wisconsin’s water resources — our lakes, rivers and groundwater, as well as Wisconsin waters of Lakes Michigan and Superior.”

Andren also announced the appointment of James Hurley as assistant director of the Water Resources Center. Hurley works half-time as a researcher for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Established as a federal-state partnership in 1964, the Water Resources Center coordinates a statewide research program aimed at solving present and emerging water resource problems, currently emphasizing groundwater issues. The center supports a broad program of research, outreach and education, including support for 30 to 40 graduate and undergraduate students statewide.

The UW Sea Grant Institute was established in 1968 as a statewide program of research, outreach, and education dedicated to the sustainable use of Great Lakes resources. With an average budget of more than $3.5 million annually, it currently supports projects involving 79 faculty and academic staff and 61 graduate and undergraduate students at seven UW System campuses.