Levine’s Team Regional Winners

Dr. Jay Levine, professor of epidemiology and public health, is on a winning regional team that’s in the running for the Association of Public Land-Grant  Universities’ national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Award.

Levine and his colleagues in the “Riverworks at Sturgeon City” project in Jacksonville, N.C.,  were named Southern regional winners for their efforts with a community/university partnership that transformed the once-devastated Wilson Bay on the New River into a national model of environmental restoration and education.

Levine, who directs the Aquatic Epidemiology and Conservation Laboratory in the College of Veterinary Medicine, worked with Jacksonville officials to improve water quality in Wilson Bay after decades of pollution. Working with partners in government, education, business and nonprofit organizations, he helped lead efforts to transform the decommissioned waste water treatment plant and a landfill into a recreational green space named Sturgeon City.

The site now supports K-12 educational activities and civic events. A nonprofit foundation has been created to construct an environmental education center at the site.

As regional winners, Levine and his colleagues will attend the APLU meeting in Dallas in November, where the national award will be presented. The award is named for C. Peter Magrath, former APLU president.