Charles Jenkins

Charles R. Jenkins earned his B.S.Ed in chemistry at Eastern Illinois State University. After serving in the US. Army and teaching high school science, he earned a M.S. in Zoology at the University of Illinois. He then entered a Ph.D. program in Zoology at Oklahoma State University, conducting research on the toxicity of oil refinery effluents. This led to his enrollment in all the Sanitary Engineering graduate courses offered by the Civil Engineering Department and being awarded a Ph.D.

Environmental regulation and control were becoming national issues, and the Civil Engineering Department at WVU responded by expanding undergraduate and introducing new graduate courses in water and wastewater treatment. Programs emphasizing air pollution and solid waste were added to the Civil Engineering curriculum. Dr. Jenkins developed the Sanitary Chemistry and Biology course which was integral to all these areas of specialization. He managed grants secured from NSF, EPA, USGS, industry and other entities which provided student support. Graduates were sought by site, state and federal agencies and private consulting engineering firms. His research included biological wastewater treatment processes and sediment control for surface mines.

Dr. Jenkins was a member of the team of professors who brought the Small Flows Clearing House to WVU, and he was appointed Director of the WV Water Research Institute in the National Research Center for Coal and Energy. Awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship in Cyprus, he investigated reuse of treated wastewater for crop irrigation.

Active in professional organizations, he served as president of the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Association and the West Virginia American Water Works Association. Three governors of West Virginia appointed him to the WV Environmental Quality Board, and he served 15 years. After retiring from WVU, he was given assignments in Sri Lanka and Russia by the International Executive Service Corps.