Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Alumni Impacting Arkansas Water Quality

Several graduates from the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at the U of A are making a lasting impact on the state's water resources through their work at the Beaver Water District and the Fayetteville Water Processing Plant.

The pipeline of graduates in CSES, which is housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, helps protect and sustain Arkansas' most vital natural resource: clean and safe water. From environmental specialists to water quality analysts, graduates are putting classroom learning and field experience to work in real-world settings directly benefitting communities across Northwest Arkansas.

Their efforts contribute to monitoring, managing and improving water quality in the Beaver Lake watershed, which provides drinking water for more than 400,000 residents.

One of those graduates is Matthew W. Rich, an environmental specialist with the Beaver Water District.

"Pursuing my master's degree in CSES was crucial to charting the course of my second career," he says. "As a non-traditional student in my late 30s, I was nervous about 'starting over.' Under the guidance of Dr. Thad Scott, working in his lab and gaining valuable insights into a career in water quality, I leveraged my master's thesis on Beaver Lake into a fulfilling career as an environmental specialist at the Beaver Water District. Nearly 10 years later, I'm still at BWD and still loving it. Without Thad Scott and others in CSES, I don't believe my success would be a reality."

CSES prepares students to address some of today's most pressing agricultural and environmental challenges. Through hands-on fieldwork, cutting-edge laboratory research and collaboration with industry and government partners, students gain skills needed to improve environmental quality, enhance sustainable agriculture and protect natural resources.

"I have worked for Beaver for 23 years, first as a plant operator (11 years) and then as operations supervisor (12 years)," Jesse Burch, a BWD operations supervisor, says. "While the coursework set a foundation of what to understand and achieve in the profession I chose, I feel it was the years I spent working in the department, three for Dr. Duane Wolf in soil microbiology, one for Dr. Larry Purcell in soybean physiology and two with Dr. Tommy Daniel in graduate school, that set the stage for understanding work/life demands, accomplishments and how to manage and deliver on expectations."

That same blend of academic preparation and real-world application continues with more recent graduates, including Alyssa Liddle, a laboratory analyst at Beaver Water District, who transitioned directly from earning her M.S. in CSES into her current role, where she has worked for nearly four years.

Her work focuses on laboratory analysis that supports plant operations and safeguards public health.

"This work directly impacts the public by protecting public health and ensuring the drinking water meets all regulatory standards," she says. "A lot of my laboratory skills were developed in my graduate program at the U of A, where I was a graduate assistant for the Arkansas Water Resources Center. That experience taught me valuable skills such as hands-on training with analytical methods and data quality control."

She also enjoys engaging with the public and talking about her career.

"We love to do educational outreach," she says. "We regularly engage with the public and teach students what working in a laboratory looks like, which is incredibly fulfilling and helps build trust and understanding around drinking water quality."

Brina Smith is another graduate working as a laboratory analyst at Beaver Water District.

"Working in the public drinking water sector and being a part of the Beaver Water District team is incredibly rewarding," Smith says. "We have the responsibility and privilege of providing our own family, friends and community with safe, reliable drinking water. It's an industry that runs quietly behind the scenes, day and night, weekends and holidays. It is often taken for granted or never thought about twice unless there's a problem. This work is an invaluable service to our community, and it fills my cup. And we are so fortunate to have such great source water, Beaver Lake, right here in Northwest Arkansas."

She credits the CSES environmental, soil and water science program in Bumpers College for preparing graduates to meet technical, analytical and environmental demands.

"As a laboratory analyst at the district, the CSES/ESWS track at the U of A absolutely primed and polished me for this career," she says. "Aside from learning all about water in the classroom, the analytical skills and technical expertise I gained in the laboratories set me apart from the crowd, and this skillset has proven to be my bread and butter. Furthermore, CSES provided me with a well-rounded, foundational understanding of environmental processes. This holistic approach has been invaluable in my understanding of the environmental dynamics that affect Beaver Lake, which in turn, directly affects my understanding of analytical results in the laboratory, and thus affects how we treat our drinking water."

The focus on hands-on, research-driven education and a commitment to preparing students for careers protecting natural resources serves Arkansans. Through real-world experience and faculty mentorship, CSES alumni have been equipped with the education and technical skills needed to make a measurable impact in their communities.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.