Barbara Anne Cosens is an American Distinguished University professor at the

University of Idaho College of Law The University of Idaho College of Law is the law school of the University of Idaho, with its main location in Moscow and a second campus in the state capital of Boise. As of the entering class of 2017–18, students may take all three years of ins ...

Early life and education

Cosens was born and raised in

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, California, and earned her bachelor's degree from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. She would later earn her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and her J.D. from the

University of California, Hastings College of Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California a ...

Career

In 2002, Cosens joined the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

(SFSU) as an assistant professor of environmental studies. She spent two years at SFSU before joining the

as a full-time permanent faculty member. By the 2009–2010 academic term, she received tenure from the university. A few years later, she accepted a visiting scholar position at the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

to focus on water resources management. In 2014, Cosens edited a book titled the "Columbia River Treaty Revisited: Transboundary River Governance in the Face of Uncertainty" which examined the

Columbia River Treaty The Columbia River Treaty is a 1961 agreement between Canada and the United States on the development and operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin for power and flood control benefits in both countries. Four dams were constructed under ...

. After earning tenure, Cosens co-founded the Social-ecological System Resilience, Climate Change, & Adaptive Water Governance project with Lance Gunderson. By 2015, Cosens received a visiting professorship with

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

to study water policy and management. Her acceptance was, in part, based on her Social-ecological System Resilience, Climate Change, & Adaptive Water Governance project which focused on law regarding adaptive water governance. The following year, she co-published an article with Craig Allen from the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

titled "Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities," which focused on the Inland Northwest. On October 5, 2016, Cosens joined researchers at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

to study water management and how law treats in-stream flows and water transfers. On April 18, 2018, Cosens was promoted to the rank of University Distinguished Professor. During the same year, she completed her co-founded Social-ecological System Resilience, Climate Change, & Adaptive Water Governance project and published the results in a book called "Practical Panarchy for Adaptive Water Governance: Linking Law to Social-Ecological Resilience."

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosens, Barbara Living people San Francisco State University faculty University of Idaho faculty University of California, Davis alumni University of Washington alumni Lewis & Clark Law School alumni University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni Academic journal editors American women legal scholars American legal scholars Year of birth missing (living people)