Hollins Receives $50,000 Jessie Ball duPont Fund Grant to Support Energy Conservation Initiatives

Hollins University has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to establish a green revolving fund that furthers a campus culture of environmental sustainability. Hollins is providing matching funds of $100,000, bringing the total value of the green revolving fund to $150,000. “The grant and matching funds will enable Hollins to immediately implement several of the most urgent and cost-effective energy conservation projects identified by our energy manager,” explains Hollins President Nancy Gray. “The support of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund has already helped us meet our carbon reduction goals well ahead of schedule, and we are deeply grateful for their continued generosity.” Hollins will appoint a five-member Green Revolving Fund Board to select and oversee a number of initiatives that will receive revolving loans beginning this fall. Potential energy conservation projects include installing energy-efficient lighting on the exterior of Dana Science Building and inside Moody Student Center and the Athletic Complex’s main gymnasium; performing a software upgrade to optimize the chillers and cooling towers in the university’s central chilled water plant, which provides cooling to much of the campus; purchasing an automated cover for the Aquatic Center swimming pool to significantly reduce energy and water consumption; and upgrading the Athletic Complex’s HVAC system to promote better temperature regulation and control, and improve indoor air quality. A national foundation based in Jacksonville, Florida, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund has worked with small colleges and universities since 2009 to encourage and sustain efforts to reduce energy consumption and, in so doing, reduce costs. In 2011, the Fund presented a $200,000 grant to Hollins and Emory & Henry College to support a joint, three-year energy conservation project, a key component of which was the hiring of a shared energy manager to conduct a comprehensive assessment of energy consumption on each campus; identify strategies to further decrease energy use; develop and implement energy policies for each institution; and enhance educational activities to promote energy conservation by members of each campus community.