College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Jon Bartholic is the former Director of the Institute of Water Research and Professor Emertitus in the Department of Community Sustainability (formerly Resource Development and; Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies) and Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University. The Institute team works closely with local, county, state, regional, and federal government agencies and organizations focusing on water quality and land use in determining susceptible groundwater contamination areas and utilization of appropriate land use practices.

He has and continues to work closely with MSU colleagues on water quality and quantity issues, and land use and whole-farm planning from a watershed perspective. He works closely with others to develop an accessible integrated environmental information web based system including remote sensing and GIS technologies to aid users in making sound environmental, resource, and land use decisions. This approach is utilized in the “Restoring Great Lakes Basin Water through the Use of Conservation Credits and Integrated Water Balance Analysis System” funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund (GLPF).

Most notably, Dr. Bartholic has contributed significantly to the design and implementation of a highly successful series of MSU Virtual University Watershed Courses. Enrollment has grown to well over 100 students per year seeking either academic credit or a certificate. The course is currently being considered as a partnership course offering with other colleges/universities. It has also received considerable international attention.

Dr. Bartholic has authored many published articles and presented at multiple conferences, public Senate hearings, meetings, etc. focusing on water/watershed concerns and wise land use decision-making. He has testified before Congress on behalf of the National Institutes for Water Resources in support of the federally mandated Water Resources Research Institutes Program, and served two terms as president of the Universities Council on Water Resources.

He works closely with EPA, USDA, USGS, Corps of Engineers, and a multitude of other federal, regional, state, and local agencies and organizations.

Dr. Bartholic also contributes significantly to multiple committees addressing statewide issues of concern -- FOTG, EQIP, GLC, MTC, MAEAP, NCS-5, GAAMPS, Bio-Security/Bio-Terrorism Research Initiative Sub-Committee on Microbes in a Water Environment, MSU-UM, May 2002-Present; the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Multi-State Project S-1004 Sub-Committee: Development and Evaluation of TMDL Planning and Assessment Tools and Processes.

Jon Bartholic's Curriculum Vitae

MSU's Virtual Watershed Program - An Internet-based Academic Credit or Professional Certificate Program in Watershed Management