University News

William Doe Named Director of WIU's Institute for Environmental Studies

June 1, 2005

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MACOMB, IL - - William “Bill” Doe III has been named director of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IES) within Western Illinois University’s College of Arts and Sciences, effective Aug. 1, according to CAS Dean Inessa Levi. Additionally, Doe will serve as a professor of geography and direct Western’s environmental studies minor.

"Dr. Doe is an experienced and energetic leader with an exceptional record of accomplishments in directing large scale research and development projects in various areas of environmental studies,” Levi said. “His leadership will support the development of the IES as a catalyst for interdisciplinary environmental research, teaching and outreach activities."

Doe comes to Western Illinois from his position as a senior research scientist and associate director of the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) at Colorado State University, a Carnegie I Research University. At Colorado State since 1996, Doe has directed $3 to $5 million annually in federal contracts and grants and supervised 35 environmental professionals in support of the Department of DefenseÂ’s land management and sustainability programs, which supported military installations throughout the U.S. He directed a 15-member team which inventoried and digitally mapped all of the current U.S. Army lands located west of the Mississippi River. Doe also developed distance learning courseware in environmental management for military land managers. He held joint faculty appointments in the department of forest, range and watershed stewardship and in the department of civil engineering.

A 1974 United States Military Academy (West Point, NY) graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree, Doe served 22 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He served seven years on the faculty at West Point, including a tenure from 1992-96 as academy professor and program director of geography and environmental studies. He also served as a faculty representative for the Army womenÂ’s basketball team.

“I am very excited to join the college in creating the Institute for Environmental Studies. Western Illinois University is well positioned, intellectually and institutionally, to serve as a role model in fostering environmental literacy and sustainability on campus, in local communities and throughout the state and Midwest,” Doe said. “Interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching, research and service - - all of which I envision the institute undertaking - - are central to these roles.

“I have many ties to Illinois which make this a wonderful opportunity,” he added. “My wife’s (Sue Rowe Doe) family is from Galesburg and both she and my oldest son are Knox College graduates. I have worked extensively throughout my career with the Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that plays a significant role in water resources and land management within the state and Mississippi River basin. My first introduction to Illinois, some 25 years ago, was to travel the River Road. I was fascinated, as most geographers would be, by the scenery, the Mississippi River, and the connections between the natural environment and human occupancy. Since that first road trip, my family and I have made dozens of trips back to the Heartland - - so returning to join the faculty at Western Illinois completes a personal and professional journey.”

Doe is co-editor of the book “Landscape Erosion and Evolution Modeling” (2001), a contributor to “The Scope of Military Geography” (2000) and has published and presented extensively on the subject of military land management. He has been a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) for 23 years. Doe earned his Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) from the University of New Hampshire (1980) and his Ph.D. in civil engineering with a specialization in water resources planning and management at Colorado State (1992).

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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