The Dow Chemical Company is endowing a chair in sustainable chemistry at the University of California, Berkley. Together with the Dow Chemical Company Foundation, it will establish the chair with a $1 million gift to the school. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will be matching Dow's gift with an additional $1 million.

The income from the endowment will be used primarily to fund the research of a faculty member in the area of sustainable chemistry, as well as support graduate students studying in Berkley's College of Chemistry. Endowed chairs are crucial at the university level, required for recruiting top faculty.

"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," said Richard Mathies, the dean of the College of Chemistry. 

This endowment represents a small part of the Dow Chemical Company Foundation's 2007 commitment to support sustainability at UC Berkley. The foundation has dedicated $10 million to that goal, to be disbursed over the next five years. It has already established the Sustainable Products and Solutions Program as a partnership between Berkley's College of Chemistry and the Haas School of Business.

Image — Dow