Hach Foundation handed off to chemical society

FORT COLLINS – For more than 25 years, the Fort Collins-based Hach Scientific Foundation focused on fostering a love for chemistry in the scientists of tomorrow. Earlier this year, the foundation was dissolved, but not before it ensured that the programs developed over decades had a new home.

The Hach Scientific Foundation was founded in 1982. Clifford and Kitty Hach started Hach Co., a water chemistry analysis and instrumentation firm, in 1947, and the Hach Scientific Foundation was one of the milestones along the way.

“It was originally an idea from my grandfather,´ said Bryce Hach, the former executive director of the foundation. “My grandfather was truly a devout chemist.”

He explained that Clifford Hach was worried that chemistry was getting a bad reputation in the public eye and that it might dissuade future generations from the profession.

The foundation started as a small nonprofit within the Hach Co. It awarded $4,000 scholarships to five chemistry students in Colorado, Iowa and/or Wyoming. The company was founded in Iowa, but the Wyoming connection remains a bit of a mystery.

“I’m not sure why, but he had an emotional affinity to the state,” Bryce Hach said of his grandfather.

The Hach Co. grew to about 1,000 before it was purchased by Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corp. in 1999. The foundation also grew and evolved as the sale of the company created an endowment. It had also received a boost in 1990 when Clifford Hach passed away, setting up an additional endowment.

In 2000, the foundation selected a number of universities partners that became responsible for handing out the scholarships, which kept the non-operating foundation’s overhead down. The foundation partnered with 10 to 15 universities, including Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado, which have been providing six to 10 scholarships at $6,000 each.

The foundation also added outreach support to fund programs at local universities. The goal was to get university representatives into the K-12 schools to entice more students to consider pursuit of a degree in chemistry.

Focus on teachers

Bryce Hach joined the foundation in 2004, having spent several years as a science teacher, and became executive director in 2005. During his first year, he visited with all the scholars the Hach Scientific Foundation supported to find out why they chose to go into chemistry.

“At least 90 percent of them said the reason they went into chemistry was the influence of a very good chemistry teacher in high school,” he said.

He did some research and found out that only one-quarter of U.S. chemistry teachers actually held a degree in chemistry. So in 2005, the foundation refined its focus from support of general chemistry to chemistry education. At the same time, it broadened its footprint to become a national program, offering scholarships to all land grant universities – 70 schools located in all 50 states.

“A chemistry major going into teaching is a truly unique person because it requires two very different skill sets,” he said.

In addition to offering chemistry education scholarships, the foundation began a program to encourage second-career chemistry teachers. Chemists working in the field could apply to the foundation for a scholarship to gain an additional degree in education to become a teacher.

In 2008, the foundation set up another program to support existing chemistry teachers. Recognizing that chemistry equipment is very expensive, the Hach Scientific Foundation gave 180 grants of up to $1,500 to high school chemistry teachers to update their labs.

“It allowed us to come full circle,” Hach said.

With all the programs in place, it seemed a good time to hand over the reins. At the start of the year, the Hach Scientific Foundation transferred all of its programs to the American Chemical Society, a 160,000-member, professional group based in Washington, D.C.

“They saw us as filing a hole that was part of their repertoire,” Hach said, explaining that the ACS had done little to support chemistry education in the past. Hach stayed on as a consultant through May to ensure a clear transition.

“I think all of the programs will run very well,” he said, pointing out that the society has the potential to lobby for the cause. “These programs will be a seed to get the organization to address (the education) issue and more.

Even with its dissolution, the Hach Scientific Foundation’s legacy will remain. Over its long history, the organization handed out around 800 scholarships. Additionally, Bryce Hach has now moved on to another nonprofit, serving as the director of the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado’s Homeward 2020 initiative with a goal of ending homelessness in Fort Collins in 10 years.

Kristen Tatti covers technology for the Northern Colorado Business Report. She can be reached at 970-221-5400, ext. 219 or ktatti@ncbr.com.

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