LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has received a $2.4 million federal grant to fund creation of the Drought Risk Management Research Center.

The three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was announced Wednesday. The new center will be housed within the existing National Drought Mitigation Center at the university. It will join the university’s center this summer.

According to retired Coast Guard Vice Admiral Manson Brown, who announced the partnership, the center will coordinate drought preparedness at the federal, state and local levels.