Bonnie Colby Women of Impact Award 2023
Oct. 2, 2023
The University of Arizona’s, Office of Research, Innovation & Impact (RII), selected Dr. Bonnie Colby from the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics (AREC) as a nominee of the Women of Impact Award. Each year, RII selects 30 outstanding faculty and staff who provide exceptional contributions to their research enterprise. The Women of Impact cohort will be joined by the Young Women of Impact honorees, who are representing public high schools across Pima County, at the private event celebration on October 20, 2023. AREC extends its warmest congratulations to Dr. Bonnie Colby on this well-deserved award that recognizes her outstanding research and influence at the University!
In Dr. Bonnie Colby’s words regarding this award:
“I’m honored to be recognized with this award, based on research, teaching and outreach in economic approaches to water and energy challenges. I’ve had the privilege of engaging with many elected officials and other community leaders engaged in conflicts over resources; U.S. Senators, tribal council members, U.N. officials, and city water managers – to name a few. These dialogues provide an opportunity to work with outstanding individuals and to integrate customized risk-sharing and other economic tools into new agreements. In teaching and research advising, my work with students from diverse cultures gives me an appreciation for resource management practices embedded in indigenous knowledge; an inspiration to me and a source of innovation for contemporary problems. Many former graduate and undergraduate students are now in key resource policy and academic positions around the world. They provide great role models to my current students, along with fascinating resource economics cases to use in my classes.”
In Gary Thompson’s, Head Professor of AREC, words:
“For four decades, Bonnie has established herself as the preeminent expert in the economics of water in the West and beyond. Long before many faculty members garnered extramural funding, Bonnie regularly landed grants from federal government entities and private foundations, which she has employed to support an uninterrupted chain of graduate students. She has benefitted the wider community by serving on the boards of directors of NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy. While doing all that, she has also made lasting impacts on many throughout the university community by teaching mindfulness techniques and making us all aware of the imperative of good mental health.”