August 28, 2008
Williard elected to association’s board of directors
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Karl W.J. Williard, associate professor of forestry in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Water Resources Association, a multidisciplinary group of professionals focusing on water resources education, management and research. His three-year term begins in January.
Affiliated with the association since 1994, Williard started its first student chapter at SIUC and assisted in revitalizing its state section. He served as state section president from 2002 to 2006 and oversaw technical program offerings for the group’s annual conference in 2007. The association previously honored him with a Pyramid Award, which recognizes demonstrated achievements and leadership potential.
Williard, an expert on forest hydrology and watershed management, has a number of ongoing research projects related to water quality and buffer zones, including a study involving the buffer potential of native giant cane. He came to SIUC in 1999 after completing his doctorate at The Pennsylvania State University. A Pennsylvania native, he also has a master’s from Penn State, earned in 1996, and a bachelor’s from Lehigh University, awarded in 1994.
The association’s membership includes attorneys, academics, biologists, engineers, foresters, geographers and regulators from more than 40 countries. Founded in 1964 in Urbana, it is now headquartered in Middleburg, Va.