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Weathering the storm: Political Science revives exchange with Netherlands university to prepare Alabama for severe weather

No matter where you are in the world, severe weather is a threat to water, power and people. To strengthen Alabama’s readiness for natural disasters, Department of Political Science faculty are leading a knowledge exchange with the University of Twente.

More than 30 years ago, Political Science Professor John Morris was a doctoral student at Auburn who traveled to the University of Twente as part of an exchange program. Today, he and Twente faculty who also participated in the exchange are reconnecting the institutions.

“We are now trying to do for our students what our faculty did for us 35 years ago, so it's kind of coming full circle again,” Morris said. “The faculty that were here 35 years ago recognized that Twente’s mission looks like the Auburn mission as a land grant. If you think about what it is that you’re led to do as an institution, the missions are almost identical, so that makes Twente a particularly good fit with Auburn.”

Severe weather also connects Auburn and Twente. Both universities are in regions that are challenged by water scarcity challenges when faced by long droughts. Communities in both regions were heavily affected by severe weather events, including heavy rainfall and hail. Also, in both Alabama and in the Netherlands, severe weather events have the potential to destroy critical infrastructure, including water resources.

Joanne Vinke-de Kruijf, adjunct professor of climate-resilient infrastructure systems at the University of Twente, said the frequency of severe weather and mission-driven work at both universities supports the exchange of knowledge.

“Researchers in both organizations recognize the urgent need for expanding interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthening their engagement with communities, policymakers and practitioners to meaningfully address these issues,” Vinke de-Kruijf said. “Considering the globally felt need for improving resilience, this collaboration focuses on boosting resilience in relation to infrastructure management and governance and extreme weather events.”

In June, Morris and Master of Community Planning Program Director Megan Heim LaFrombois, along with Auburn colleagues Rebecca Retzlaff, Joseph Aistrup and Paul Harris, attended the Auburn-Twente organized Conference on Water Infrastructure and Governance in the Netherlands.

Auburn presentations included the Master of Community Planning’s Camp Hill community resilience projects, planning for climate-resilient water infrastructure and policymaking for natural disasters.

Twente researchers presented on drought risk management, climate-resilient landscapes and individual-community conflicts in urban infrastructure renovation.

Across topics, Heim LaFrombois said the exchange of knowledge helps everyone navigate inevitable, real-world problems that affect human lives across the globe.

“These are huge, huge issues that affect all of us, but we’re affected differently and sometimes unequally,” Heim LaFrombois said. “Part of our work is realizing the wealth of local knowledge here and there. It's tapping into that knowledge and the best practices and also being the conduit through which to share that in Alabama and in the Netherlands.”

A book including the conference’s interdisciplinary research papers is currently in the works. Moving forward, Auburn and Twente hope to deepen their exchange of ideas and faculty by planning additional campus visits and inviting each other to serve on doctoral candidates’ dissertation committees.

Auburn students at all levels will also benefit from the international, interdisciplinary exchange of ideas as faculty translate their experience to teaching in the classroom.

Above all, Morris said the partnership will bring new solutions to critical problems faced by Alabamians.

Learn more about the Master of Community Planning program and the PhD in Public Administration and Public Policy from the Department of Political Science.

Tags: Political Science Research Community, Outreach and Engagement Faculty Students