As the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI) enters its second five-year phase of development, 2016 will bring a planned leadership transition.

Founding executive director Roberto Lenton will be transitioning out of that position by the end of this year. “I was — and remain — very excited about the opportunity to position DWFI to successfully implement its global mission of ensuring a food and water secure future for our growing population,” said Lenton. “I have assured the board of directors and university leadership that I am committed to facilitating an effective transition and will remain an active and involved executive director until I hand over DWFI leadership to my successor — and will assist the new director beyond that time if she or he sees fit.”

“I am delighted by the enormous progress Roberto has made to establish DWFI on a very solid basis as an important and recognized player in the field of water for food — one of the most important global challenges of the 21st century,” said Jeff Raikes, chair of the DWFI board of directors. “The institute now has an excellent staff and core leadership team who have initiated an impactful set of research, policy and education programs, working in close collaboration with DWFI Faculty Fellows across the university system.”

In recognition of progress to date, the Robert B. Daugherty Charitable Foundation has approved the second 5-year tranche of a $50 million, 15-year grant awarded in 2010. Some of the key accomplishments of DWFI in the first five years include producing six leading global conferences on Water for Food, and spporting development of the Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas, providing data gathering in South America, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to identify areas of potential yield improvement.

The University of Nebraska will convene a search committee and engage a search firm for hiring Lenton’s successor.