Sustainability Research Program Receives $2 Million Donation

A program aimed at supporting graduate student research on sustainability was launched yesterday with a $2 million donation made by the Dow Chemical Company Foundation.

The Sustainable Products and Solutions Program is an interdisciplinary campus program that will provide opportunities for graduate students to develop products or processes that are not harmful to humans and the environment, program directors said.

“It’s great for the world, it’s great for the students and it’s great for the campus,” said Kellie McElhaney, director for the new program and executive director of the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business, where the program will be housed.

The Dow Chemical Company Foundation could pledge a total of $10 million to the program over the next five years, said Tony Kingsbury, executive in residence for the foundation, who said he will be working to raise more funds to support the program.

McElhaney said funding would support student fellowships, research and field experiences on sustainability studies, such as developing renewable energy, cleaning drinking water and minimizing waste.

Graduate students can submit proposals for research and education projects. Research through the program is slated to begin by early next year.

Program directors said undergraduates who collaborate with graduate students will also have the chance to participate in projects.

Haas and the College of Chemistry have been the most heavily involved in the establishment of the program, Clark said, but the program’s aim is to work with other colleges and programs to approach sustainability through an interdisciplinary scope.

“That’s our only way out of some of the sustainability challenges our world faces now,” McElhaney said.

However, members of the UC Berkeley chapter of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal said the donation ties the campus with Dow Chemical Company, which oversees the foundation.

Students, war veterans and Berkeley residents were among about 20 protesters who rallied outside of the business school at the launch of the program yesterday, saying that the company has failed to pay for damages in connection with a 1984 chemical leak in Bhopal, India, which led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people.

“If we allow Dow into this campus, which we pride ourselves in, it shows a complete lack of democracy and disregard for our opinions,” said Dipti Bhatnagar, a graduate student in the campus Energy and Resources Group and a member of the campaign.

Others said they look forward to working on projects through the program.

“I think that it’s very easy to criticize a big corporation but I think it’s a lot harder to change the game of how we do things in terms of having a positive impact on the world,” said Elizabeth Singleton, a graduate student at Haas.

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