About SWES
Statement of Mission and Goals
The mission of the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science is to support training, research, service, and extension/outreach in the broad area of soil, water and environmental science. The faculty and staff are dedicated to establishing and maintaining excellence in all four of these endeavors.
- The goal
of our education and training program is to produce graduates that have
the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute to addressing issues
associated with human interactions with the environment (e.g., agriculture,
water use, waste management). The program is designed to integrate theory
with practical applications, and to synthesize cutting-edge research
with basic knowledge.
- The
goals of our research activities are to produce new knowledge in the
relevant fields of study and to develop a better understanding of human
interactions with the environment.
- The goal of our service and extension/outreach activities is to provide support and information in relevant areas to the citizens of the state of Arizona, and to other interested parties (government agencies, industry, other scientists).
An issue key to the continuing growth and prosperity of Arizona is water quality. Water is a limited resource throughout the State and management of this precious resource is increasingly governed by issues such as groundwater contamination from agricultural and industrial sources and wastewater reuse. This Department, with strong focal areas in Environmental and Soil Sciences, is and will continue to be a key resource for the State in the area of water quality.
It is our mission to provide
- training
in the area of water quality to the coming generation of scientists
and decision-makers
- relevant
and innovative information to aid in management and decision-making
of our increasingly stressed water supplies
- technical expertise for addressing water quality issues in both rural (agriculture) and urban centers.
Water quality will continue to be a primary focal area for training, research, and service/extension/outreach activities of the Department