Green Building Council honors Cincinnati State faculty member

December 23, 2010

The Cincinnati Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has presented its fourth annual “Sustainable Leader of the Year Award’’ to Larry Feist, a faculty member at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

Feist is chairman of the electro-mechanical engineering technology program and co-chairman of the power systems engineering technology program at Cincinnati State.

At Cincinnati State, he introduced and developed the renewable energy major and certificate program, which was the first of its kind to win approval from the Ohio Board of Regents.

He also developed the College’s Smart Grid major, another first within the state.

A graduate of Elder High School, Feist hold holds associate’s degrees in computer engineering technology and electro-mechanical engineering technology from Cincinnati State and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Wright State University.

Feist lives with his family in a Delhi Township home that features a geothermal heating and cooling system, energy-efficient window blinds and a lighting system that uses only energy-efficient CFL bulbs. He’s in the process of installing a 220-gallon rainwater storage tank in his yard, and plans next to install the solar hot water system that he recently purchased (but which is currently serving as a prop in his lab at Cincinnati State).

The USGBC-Cincinnati Sustainable Leader of the Year Awards are presented to the individual that chapter leaders believe has demonstrated the most significant leadership toward making the region more sustainable.

In presenting the award during a recent ceremony at the Safari Lodge at the Cincinnati Zoo, USGBC-Cincinnati chairman Chad Edwards cited Feist’s longstanding passion for energy conservation along with his specific accomplishments over the past year.

The latter include:

• His role in establishing the “Smart Grid’’ major at Cincinnati State.
• Creating an outreach program for K-12 schools that teaches students about renewable energy, energy conservation and energy efficiency.
• Service as chairman of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory’s Climate Initiative Program.
• His leadership on an ad hoc committee at Cincinnati State charged with reducing the College’s carbon footprint

“Larry’s an exceptional guy. He’s passionate about energy conservation and efficiency and renewables,’’ Edwards said. “The thing is, Larry’s not just an educator – he wants to motivate people to do something about all this. He takes it personally.’’

Feist also won a 2009 House-Bruckmann Award for teaching excellence from Cincinnati State.

ABOUT USGBC-Cincinnati (www.usgbc-cincinnati.org)
Our Vision is that all buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health, prosperity and vitality of all life within a generation. Our Mission is to transform the way regional buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous built and natural environment that improves the quality of life.

ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE
Cincinnati State offers more than 75 associate degree and 40 certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. About 11,400 students are enrolled in the 2010 Late Fall Term. Cincinnati State has one of the largest cooperative education programs in the United States.