Jerrold L. Hutton became dean of the Hocking College Energy Institute in 2003 "with a briefcase and three students."
Today, the Institute has a brand-new green building, 131 students and hopes to add two new associate degrees next fall.
The new building in Logan was deliberately built next to the Logan-Hocking Industrial Park Hutton says. The facility, which opened last September, serves as a hands-on learning lab for students studying in energy programs such as alternative energy, fuel cells, and vehicular hybrids
The Institute currently offers two associate degrees: one in applied science and advanced energy and fuel cells; the other in vehicular hybrids and electrics and fuel cells.
"Starting this fall, if everything goes well with the (Board of) Regents . . .we will start two new agriculture-focused programs which will be under our advanced energy but it will be a major in regenerative design for sustainable development with a specialization in energy production -- and the other major will be a specialization in bioproduct production."
The $3.4-million building on 15 acres allows students to work hand-in-hand with nearby companies within the industrial park, Hutton says. In December, the Institute was awarded $498,000 as part of a $1.49-million Ohio Third Frontier grant for a collaborative project with Lewis Center-based fuel cell manufacturer NexTech Materials.
The Institute has plans to install a tape casting line in a building leased within the industrial park for production of anodes, cathodes and electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells, Hutton says.
Meanwhile, the Institute building -- powered by geothermal, photovoltaics and wind -- is awaiting word on a LEED Platinum designation for its green building design -- an honor that would make it the first Ohio college or university building to win such a designation, Hutton says.
Source: Jerrold L. Hutton, Ph.D., Hocking College
Writer: Gene Monteith