College of Lake County continues sustainability efforts
Through campus-focused projects and statewide collaborations, the College of Lake County is achieving energy cost savings and creating new academic programs to teach in-demand sustainability-related job skills.
College of Lake County trustees received updates recently on progress on sustainability efforts ranging from facilities improvements to curriculum, many funded by state and federal grants. Since 2009, CLC has been a partner in $22.3 million in sustainability-related grants awarded to Illinois community colleges, receiving $6.9 million of that amount.
The college estimates that projects like installing solar thermal panels, LED classroom and hallway fixtures and boiler tuneups have already saved about $500,000 in energy costs over the last three years.
“These kinds of results are a good reason that sustainability is included in our college strategic plan,” said Board Chairman Richard Anderson following the monthly board meeting.
The board updates focused on two major sustainability initiatives: the college’s participation in the Illinois Green Economy Network, a consortium of community colleges established to advance the green economy and provide job preparation for emerging green jobs, and work on a $19.3 million U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Act grant focused on creating new online curricula for green economy jobs and providing job assistance services for displaced workers.
CLC is the administrative agent for IGEN and also operates its own Sustainability and Green Economy centers, dedicated to encouraging green practices on campus, developing sustainability-related curricula and assisting local communities and individuals in adopting sustainability practices.
The TAA grant is a partnership among 17 Illinois community colleges. CLC wrote the grant proposal and serves as the fiscal and administrative agent for grant, which was awarded in 2011. The grant’s goals are to help low-skilled workers gain better jobs, develop career training programs that meet industry needs and strengthen online and technology-assisted instruction, according to Terri Berryman, grant director.
Several staff and community members reported on the progress of the IGEN activities and the TAA grant.
Dara Reiff, coordinator of the college’s Sustainability Center, and Amy McEwan, Lake County senior assistant administrator, provided an overview of the college’s IGEN-supported sustainability center.
Reiff said that the sustainability center’s work includes overseeing progress on implementing the college’s sustainability plan, assisting faculty with curriculum development and serving as a resource for Lake County government units, employers and individuals on sustainability-related best practices.
Community organizations, agencies and business have joined with the college to collaborate on sustainability. McEwan said the CLC Sustainability Center has been valuable in helping the county work with municipalities to adopt sustainability practices that meet individual community needs.
Speaking on sustainability-related curricula, Steve Holman, dean of the Biological and Health Sciences division, said that the college currently offers certificates in Sustainable Design and Construction and Alternative Energy Technologies, and degrees and certificates in Energy Auditing and Natural Areas Management. New this fall, he said, are degree and certificate programs in Sustainable Agriculture and transfer degrees in Sustainability Studies.
Brad Leibov, executive director of the Liberty Prairie Foundation, works on programs supporting farming entrepreneurs. He said there is a growing demand for locally grown food, and that the most successful ventures are often tied to a community college program.
Creating academic programs that lead to job opportunities is a major focus of the TAA grant, according to Berryman. Intended to make it easier for displaced workers to learn new job skills, the grant focuses on online instruction developed using open-source software and content, she said. By the end of the three-year grant period, the 17 participating colleges will create 33 new degree and certificate programs and 193 courses in sustainability-related fields and provide instruction to 2,000 students, she said.
Because the course content is open-source, any college in the country will have access to the courses, she said.