Thomas Haas on Leadership (1 of 7)

Thomas J. Haas, president of Grand Valley State University, spoke at the first meeting of the Hauenstein Center's Peter Cook Leadership Academy.

President Thomas J. Haas, the university's fourth president, is beginning his third academic year at Grand Valley State University.

During the past 20 years, Haas has been a tenured faculty member, department chair, dean, vice president and president. Just prior to his appointment in 2006, Haas was president of the State University of New York campus at Cobleskill.

Haas has professional and personal ties to Michigan. He is a 1973 honors graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and served two years on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Acacia in Port Huron. He then earned a Master of Science in chemistry and another in environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan. Haas also holds a Master of Science in human resource management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Connecticut.

Haas is an internationally recognized expert in hazardous material transportation and has published more than 70 articles in a variety of journals. In addition to his appointment as president of Grand Valley, Haas has also been appointed professor of chemistry.

"Dr. Haas is the visionary, collaborative, experienced leader that Grand Valley needs as the university continues to grow and develop," said Gayle R. Davis, provost at Grand Valley.

"I am thrilled to be called to service at Grand Valley," said Haas. "I look forward to working with colleagues inside and outside the university to advance Grand Valley as a learning community with a global vision."

Haas is married to Marcia (Knapp) Haas, who is a native of Union City and a graduate of Albion College. They have three children and two grandchildren and have other family living in Grand Rapids.

Grand Valley State University attracts more than 23,000 students with high quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for the state's second largest metropolitan area and offers 70 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids, and Holland and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships.

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