Article Series:
Center for Sustainability at Johnson College
Part 1

The Center for Sustainability at Johnson College has been established. The Center is dedicated to a regional understanding and application of green and sustainable concepts. The focus of the Center is programming that provides industry-driven curriculum and events. Education and training provides opportunities leading to industry-recognized credentials and the development of career pathways.

According to The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America, a study conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts in June 2009, Pennsylvania ranks as the third largest state for green jobs. In this category, Pennsylvania ranks directly behind California and Texas, respectively.

The PEW study indicates, “A clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources. The clean energy economy cuts across five categories: (1) Clean Energy; (2) Energy Efficiency; (3) Environmentally Friendly Production; (4) Conservation and Pollution Mitigation; and (5) Training and Support.”

Dr. Ann L. Pipinski, President and CEO, states, “The mission of Johnson College is to provide a foundation of education and skills necessary for specialized employment, career advancement and life-long learning. As a result, the College focuses on recognizing and responding to industry demands in order to provide the most up-to-date training.”

Johnson College, with its awareness of industry needs, initiated plans for a Center for Sustainability early on. Recognizing the opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and other sources, the College began dedicating itself to the sustainability movement in terms of grants, training, and collaborations in the area of green energy jobs. As part of the planning, the College has had the opportunity to be a part of a grant that enabled faculty members to attend The Sustainable Energy Fund of Central Eastern Pennsylvania’s Solar Scholars program since 2008. Solar Scholars receive hands-on training in order to incorporate renewable and sustainable energy into curriculum. Doug Hampton, Biomedical Equipment Technology chairperson and Solar Scholars attendee, relates, “The program provided the instructors with many topics on sustainability, solar energy and wind power to incorporate into their current curricula.”

The Center for Sustainability at Johnson College is an umbrella term for a number of activities as opposed to being a physical office building. These activities include industry training, continuing education, collaborative programming, degree programs, and community events.

“When people think green, I want them to think Johnson College,” said Dr. Pipinski.

A number of initiatives for the Center are currently underway. Due to a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry made possible by the ARRA, Johnson College is one of six weatherization training providers in Pennsylvania. The College’s weatherization training efforts were recently highlighted by U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Energy Empowers Blog, which showcases success stories that highlight “how, together, we are building America’s new energy economy — by improving efficiency, by building sustainable businesses that create new jobs, and by dusting off age-old skills and using them in new ways to generate clean energy.” Additionally, plans are underway to create a Green Learning House on campus. The Green Learning House will take the College’s modular project concept but make the modular structure that is built a hands-on, sustainable learning tool that students utilize every year, making it permanent to campus and functional for other campus uses, like classroom space.

More information concerning the Center for Sustainability at Johnson College and its current and future projects will follow in the coming weeks. A website for the Center will also be available soon. In the meantime, visit www.johnson.edu for updates.

Center for Sustainability at Johnson College Article Series:
                     * Part 1 – Johnson College Announces Center for Sustainability
                     * Part 2 – Weatherization Training Prospers at Johnson College

Be sure to check out the Announcing the Center for Sustainability at Johnson College video:

Johnson College Cabinet Members
From left to right (Top Row): Donald Ryan, Operations Director; Dominick Carachilo ‘82, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Jeffrey Novak, Chief Financial Officer
From left to right (Middle Row): Shirley Helbing, Director of Program & Institutional Research; Dr. Ann L. Pipinski, President and CEO
From left to right (Front Row): Katie Leonard, Director of Institutional Advancement; Melissa Ide, Director of Enrollment Management