9.05.2008 - 01:19pm ET

(CSRwire) MIDLAND. – September 5, 2008 – The Dow Chemical Company and The Dow Chemical Company Foundation have jointly announced a $1 million gift to the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. The gift, which will be matched by $1 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation under the terms of a challenge grant provided to Berkeley in 2007, will be used to establish the Dow Chair in Sustainable Chemistry.

"We are delighted to continue our long-standing support of the outstanding chemistry and chemical engineering departments at UC Berkeley," said David Kepler, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Dow. "This gift reflects Dow's commitment to sustainable chemistry and to educating the next generation of students to think seriously and broadly about issues of sustainability."

The income from the endowed chair will be used in part to advance the research of a distinguished faculty member and in part to support graduate students in the College of Chemistry.

"We are deeply appreciative of Dow's support," said College of Chemistry Dean Richard A. Mathies. "Endowed chairs are critical for recruiting and retaining top faculty and for ensuring that they have the flexible funding to pursue new directions in research and teaching that would otherwise not be possible."

"This generous commitment from Dow will allow us to advance the college's teaching and research efforts in the area of sustainable chemistry, which is of vital local, national and global importance," Mathies said.

The gift for the endowed chair follows The Dow Chemical Company Foundation's 2007 commitment to provide up to $10 million over five years to support sustainability at UC Berkeley. This started with the establishment of the Sustainable Products and Solutions Program. This multidisciplinary initiative, developed in partnership between the Haas School of Business and the College of Chemistry, provides students and faculty across campus with educational and research opportunities focused on sustainability issues involving society, science, engineering, the environment and finance.

Twenty-three projects, ranging from seminars to research on water purification and renewable fuels, were selected by a faculty steering committee for funding this spring. Proposals were required to be interdisciplinary, to account for all aspects of the life cycle of a product or solution, and to help solve global sustainability challenges.

"The partnership between industry and universities will foster the development of new technologies that are innovative, financially viable, and socially responsible," said Kepler, who earned his B.S. in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley in 1975. "The education and research that a comprehensively excellent university like Berkeley can provide are key components of addressing the challenges of global sustainability."


About Dow

With annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in around 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.

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