The University of Nebraska – Lincoln has announced a $5 million gift from alumna Anne Hubbard to create a program that addresses public health issues in the state related to climate change and water quality.

Awarded through the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation, the gift will establish a Water, Climate and Health program in the University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Public Health that brings together experts from UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute to conduct research on environmental issues related to water, climate, and health and provide learning experiences for students studying such issues. Possible research topics include the links between water quality and pediatric cancer and birth defects; health outcomes related to flooding; the impact of  precision application of nitrogen fertilizer on soil and water quality; and the mapping of at-risk populations and environmental exposure.

In addition to providing start-up funds for the program, the gift will establish a named professorship and support graduate and professional students conducting research in water, climate, and health, with funding to underwrite the cost of research stipends for students matched by a gift from the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation. Hubbard's gift also will fund efforts designed to engage Nebraska middle and high school students and educators in public health and environmental issues and inspire young people to pursue a career in public health.

"Until the pandemic, public health did not get much publicity, and it is significantly underfunded," said Hubbard, an alumna of UNMC and  retired physicianwho serves on the University of Nebraska Foundation board. "The idea of public health is to prevent disease instead of just treat it. I decided to focus on water quality after learning more about diseases in Nebraska that may be related to water. The University of Nebraska is doing important work in water quality and climate change. Human health is significantly affected by our environment. As we make the disease-environment connection, are there things we can do about it?"