Loretta Singletary

Loretta Singletary, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), jointly appointed with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and serving as UNR’s Interdisciplinary Outreach Liaison. She is adjunct faculty in the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences and a member of the UNR Graduate Faculty.

Education:

• 1991 Ph.D. Applied Economics, Clemson University
• 1986 M.Ed. Education, University of South Carolina
• 1982 M.S. Geography, University of South Carolina
• 1980 B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, University of South Carolina

Research Interests:
Dr. Singletary is nationally recognized for collaborative, transdisciplinary research on water resource economics and climate adaptation. Her work integrates environmental economics, collaborative modeling, stakeholder engagement, and community-based participatory research to address critical issues in snow-fed arid-land river systems and on tribal lands. Core themes include:

• Assessing and enhancing community climate resiliency
• Designing water markets and policy instruments for drought adaptation
• Evaluating reclaimed water use for food security and urban agriculture
• Supporting tribal water rights and sustainable agricultural practices
• Co-producing knowledge through collaborative learning and conflict resolution

Research Projects & Funding (active):
She currently leads or co-leads several multi-institutional, federally funded initiatives totaling more than US $25 million:

• NSF EPSCoR “MEWRS” – Mobile Energy-Water Reuse Systems (UNR share $1.7 M)
• NSF EPSCoR “Where We Live” – Local adaptation to climate change in underserved rural communities (UNR share $1.77 M)
• USDA-NIFA “Evaluating Alternative Water Institution Performance” – Food production under changing water availability ($4.9 M)
• USDA-NIFA “Enhancing Climate Resiliency of Native American Water & Land Resources” ($4.5 M)
• NSF-USDA “Water Sustainability in Snow-Fed Arid Land River Systems” ($3.8 M)
• USDA-NIFA “Emerging Contaminants in Reclaimed Water” ($0.499 M)

Publications Snapshot:
Dr. Singletary has authored or co-authored over 70 scholarly and outreach works. Recent peer-reviewed articles (2022–2024) cluster around public perceptions of wildlife management, water market design, collaborative climate adaptation, and stakeholder engagement evaluation. Books and book chapters address tribal climate change adaptation, water markets, and collaborative modeling.

Collaborative & Advisory Roles:
She routinely convenes interdisciplinary teams of economists, hydrologists, engineers, and social scientists together with tribal councils, local water managers, and federal agencies to co-design research agendas and translate findings into actionable policy and community practice.