A viable approach toward implementing green chemistry elements in a higher education institution, with the benefit of preparing the graduates for a successful integration into the workforce, is currently in place at Grand Valley State University, a primarily undergraduate institution located in western Michigan. The curricular work at GVSU started with a “Green Chemistry” special topic class in 2006. Highly evaluated by the students, the course constituted a solid foundation for the new course “Green Chemistry  Industrial processes”. A foundation course, targeting freshmen with no previous exposure to chemistry, “Pollution Prevention, Green Chemistry and Green Engineering”, was designed in 2008 and pilot run in 2009, supported by a service contract with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The experienced faculty and equipment available in the Chemistry Department at GVSU (where a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in Environmental Chemistry is offered) converged extremely well with the new green chemistry courses and lead to the inception of a “Certification in green chemistry” program recently revised and approved by the University curricular body. The certification is centered on hands-on laboratory/internship experience and benefits from the University’s variety of course offering in sustainability, environmental studies and sciences as well as from its affiliation with Annis Water Research Institute (AWRI) and Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC).

GVSU’s work toward green chemistry introduction in the higher education in Michigan was rewarded with the Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s Award for education (September ‘09)