Player Profiles - of College Football Games

Thomas homas J. J.
Haas - University President
President Thomas J. Haas, the university's fourth president, is beginning his second 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.