Congratulations to Jim Goblirsch and Winona State University on receiving the 2024 Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability’s Administrator (Re)Cognition Award. Nominees for this category are administrators who have made significant contributions to their campus and/or community’s sustainability efforts through outstanding leadership.
The award was presented Sept. 19 at this year’s UMACS Annual Conference.
Goblirsch was integral in implementing Winona State’s successful campus-wide energy conservation project, LESS (Leading Energy Savings & Sustainability). The LESS project addressed $7.5 million in deferred maintenance and installed the largest solar energy system on any Minnesota State campus at Winona State. The project dramatically improves campus energy and water efficiency and will save $26 million over its lifetime.
Goblirsch will next work on Winona State’s Center for Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Engagement & Learning (CICEL), in alignment with WSU’s sustainability goals to pursue construction projects that are water balanced, low waste and toxin free.
As the first Net Zero Energy (NZE) and carbon neutral building in the Minnesota State system, CICEL will improve educational experiences at Winona State while furthering our commitment to sustainability and affordability.
By constructing a building with new materials and better design, Winona State will see significant savings in annual energy, water and operation costs by:
- Reducing annual building operating costs by 50%
- Avoiding 1.8 million pounds of carbon emissions
- Reducing the annual campus energy use by 3.7%
The sustainable systems will show return on the investment in just 9.5 years–which is a remarkably short time for a large construction project.
