Donald A. Wilhite
Hi, I’m Don Wilhite, director and professor at the School of Natural Resources. I became director of SNR on August 1, 2007. I hold a bachelor’s degree in geography from Central Missouri State University, a master’s degree in geography and climatology from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. in geography, climatology, and water resources from UNL.
A member of the UNL faculty since 1977, I am also associated with the applied climate sciences specialization and the human dimensions specialization. My areas of interest include drought preparedness, mitigation and policy, climate and drought monitoring, climate impact assessment, and the development of climate-based decision support tools.
Prior to becoming director of SNR, I was founder and director of the National Drought Mitigation Center. Throughout my career, I have worked with many federal and state agencies on climate and drought-related issues. I have also worked in many foreign countries and with numerous international organizations, including several agencies of the United Nations. Most of this work has been associated with the development and implementation of integrated drought monitoring programs and risk-based drought preparedness strategies and policies.
As director of SNR, I am leading a group of very talented faculty from many disciplines to develop one of the nation’s leading natural resources education, research, and outreach programs. These programs span the fields of water resources, applied climate sciences, biological sciences, ecosystem science, earth sciences, geospatial information, and the human dimensions of natural resource management. One of the major challenges is the integration of these fields of study in addressing a wide range of natural resource and environmental issues currently facing Nebraska, the Great Plains, the nation, and the world. SNR is building a truly global program of education, outreach, and research.
An excellent example of a complex environmental problem facing all nations is the issue of global climate change. Working together in an interdisciplinary fashion, incorporating input from stakeholders, SNR will help develop strategies that will enable Nebraska and the global community to adapt to and mitigate some of the current and projected impacts of climate change.
Nebraska is located in a unique geographic setting to study this issue, the Great Plains. This region represents a fragile ecosystem that will be affected dramatically by the projected changes in temperature and precipitation. The School’s faculty and staff are working to understand this complex environmental issue and address its far-reaching impacts. Our undergraduate and graduate students have the benefit of learning from some of the most talented scientists in the nation. Upon graduation, they will become leaders in natural resources and environmental management, education, and policy.
Please continue to examine the SNR website for more detailed information on our vision, mission, and programs.
Personnel Information
| Name | Don A. Wilhite |
| University Title | Professor |
| SNR Title | Director, School of Natural Resources |
| Address | 903 Hardin Hall, Lincoln NE 68583-0988 |
| Phone | 402-472-4270 |
| Fax | 402-472-3610 |
| dwilhite2@unl.edu | |
| Related Websites | http://drought.unl.edu/ http://drought.unl.edu/dm http://drought.unl.edu/kids/ |
Go to Don's Full Profile
Key Publications
- Wilhite, D.A. 2005 Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology and Management Issues. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
- Botterill, L. C. and D.A. Wilhite. 2004. From Disaster Response to Risk Management: Australia's National Drought Policy. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
- Wilhite, D.A., 2003. Drought, in Encyclopedia of World Climates (J. Oliver, ed.), London, United Kingdom: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Wilhite, D.A., 2003. Drought Policy and Preparedness: International Experiences and Future Directions, in Drought: People, Policy, and Place (L. Botterill and M. Fisher, eds.), Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO Publishing.
- Wilhite, D.A., 2002. Combating Drought through Preparedness. Natural Resources Forum 26: 275-285.
- Wilhite, D.A., 2001. Moving beyond Crisis Management, Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 16(1):20-28. Special issue (invited).
- Wilhite, D.A., 2000. Drought: A Global Assessment (editor). Natural Hazards and Disasters Series, Routledge Publishers, London.
- Wilhite, D.A., M.K.V. Sivakumar, and D.A. Wood (editors), 2000. Early Warning Systems for Drought Preparedness and Drought Management. Proceedings of an Expert Meeting, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
