Grand Valley State University President Thomas J. Haas received an Outstanding Alumni award from Tthe University of Michigan School of Public Health’s Environmental Health Sciences Department. Haas was honored at a March 23 ceremony.

President Haas earned a master’s degree in environmental health sciences from U of M in 1977; he also earned a master’s in chemistry from U of M in 1976. Haas is an honors graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He also has a master’s degree in human resources management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Connecticut.

Haas is a retired captain after 23 years of commissioned service in the USCG and is an internationally recognized expert in hazardous material transportation, strategic planning and higher education leadership. Just prior to his appointment as president of Grand Valley in 2006, he was president of the State University of New York-Cobleskill.