Sustainability and the Environment Friday became Bowling Green State University’s fifth Center of
Excellence proposal that will be submitted to the University System of Ohio.
The center will draw on programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Technology and College
of Education and Human Development.
The resolution approved by trustees indicates the center will develop around alternative energy,
environmental quality, biodiversity conservation and global climate change. The center also demonstrates
BGSU’s effort to build on the STEM education fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Among existing BGSU programs that will support the center are photochemical sciences, the Hybrid Vehicle
Institute and physics and astronomy.
BGSU officials said externally funded research programs in alternative energy, environmental monitoring
and global change have achieved international reputations. More than $17 million in external funding for
projects related to sustainability and the environment has been received in the last three years. The
projects have been in such areas as alternative energy, the electric vehicle and alternative energy
technology, environmental monitoring and assessment, biodiversity conservation, ecological consequences
of humans’ impact on the environment, and global change.
Since 2005 there have been 19 patents applied for and three start-up companies based on technology
developed at BGSU.
A total of 1,600 students have received bachelor’s degrees, 250 have received master’s degrees and 75
doctoral degrees have been awarded in the STEM disciplines.
The University System of Ohio’s 10-year plan for Higher Education requires each Ohio institution to
designate centers that can help drive regional and state economies. The proposals are due late this
year.
Trustees have already approved Centers for Developing Effective Business and Organizations, 21st Century
Educator Preparation, Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan and The Arts.