Historical Note
The Center for Water and Environmental Sustanability (CWESt) was
established in 2000 through the merger of the Center for Analysis of
Environmental Change (CAEC) and the Oregon Water Resources Research Institute
(OWRRI) at Oregon State University. CWESt operated as a research center in
support of interdisciplinary research, education, and technology transfer in
the areas of sustainability, water resources, and environmental cleanup.
Sustainability activities included the adoption of sustainable practices on
campus and the organization and sponsorship of workshops and symposia to OSU.
Environmental cleanup activities were conducted through the Technical Outreach
Service for Communities (TOSC) and Technical Assistance to Brownfields
Communities (TAB)programs as the Western Region Hazardous Substance Research
Center (WRHSRC)
CWESt was closed in August 2005 and its functions were reorgnized into
three other centers. The water resources program was incorporated into the
Institute for Water and Watersheds; sustainability activites were assumed by
OSU's Institute for Natural Resources; and the environmental cleanup programs
continued as a function of a separate Western Region Hazardous Substance
Research Center with the College of Engineering.
The InterACTION Project operated at Oregon State University from 1994 to
2002 as a program of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Food Systems Professions
Education (FSPE) Initiative. The InterACTION Project organized workshops and
conferences to promote conversational skills and teambuilding within
institutions.
Content Description
The Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability (CWESt) Records
consist of materials generated by the Center as as well as its predecessor
programs, the Center for Analysis of Environmental Change (CAEC) and the Oregon
Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI). The records document strategic
planning, conference participation, the organization of workshops, research
project coordination, and evaluation of the InterACTION Project and include
correspondence, grant proposals, staff meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper
clippings, photographs, publications, reports, research data, and survey
materials.
The bulk of the records are project files of the Technical Outreach
Service for Communities (TOSC) and Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB)
Communities programs. These files reflect work with communities in Oregon,
Alaska, Idaho, Washington, California, Arizona, and the Northern Mariana
Islands to provide technical assistance in redevelopment of former
industrialized landscapes and the cleanup of areas contaminated by hazardous
substances. The project files include correspondence, photographs, reports, and
survey materials.