Environmental Studies Program

Cleveland Hall, LEED Certified Renovation

After Cleveland Hall’s renovations are completed in 2009, it will be the first building on Denison's campus to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

LEED, a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1995, provides a list of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification – certified, silver, gold or platinum – based on how many standards they adhere to.

Cleveland Hall originally planned to go for the lowest level of LEED, but Zach Thomas ’07, an environmental major, helped persuade the university to go further with his senior research project. As a result, the building will have silver LEED certification, which will feature no-water urinals, low-flow toilet fixtures and efficient lighting. The building will also be surrounded by a lighter shade of concrete to help limit heat island effect, a phenomenon that causes temperature increase due to the urbanization of an area.

The reconstruction of the building began in May 2007.

Solar Panels on the roof of the Denison Main Library facing east toward Academic Quad.

In thanks to the generous donation from Mr. John Hunting (1954), founder of the Beldon Fund, and the monies granted by the Office of Energy Efficiency at the Ohio Department of Development, solar panels have been successfully installed on the roof of the William Howard Doane Library at Denison University. They can be seen from the south-facing window of the reading room on the fifth floor of the Stacks in the Library and from the west-facing windows on the top floor of the Fellows Building.

The photovoltaic panels, or solar panels, were installed by a company contractor, Third Sun Solar and Wind Power, in April 2007 but were not fully functional until August. As part of the green renovations to Barney-Davis completed in 1998, a conduit connecting the Barney-Davis electrical circuit to the Doane Library was established in an effort to plan for future solar panel additions. Since the electrical conduit was set in place, Barney-Davis was ready to accept energy generated by the Library solar panels once they were operational.

The array of solar panels can generate up to 6,440 direct current Watts of energy. In November 2007, the panels produced a maximum of 27.5kWh/day of energy. Between August and December, the total system output reached 1,343.4kWh preventing 2,712 lbs of carbon dioxide emission. CLICK HERE to view real time energy outputs from the solar panels.

Barney-Davis, Green Renovation completed in 1998

The renovation of Barney Memorial Hall restored the historic character of the building and now houses the McPhail Center for Environmental Studies and the English Department. The Barney renovation project was completed in 1998 and produced a place where environmental principles are upheld and demonstrated to the community. Take a Virtual Tour of Barney-Davis!

Upon the announcement of the gift, Abram W. Kaplan (director of Environmental Studies) said "Our growth has been phenomenal, and this is an incredible opportunity to build a Center that can both showcase an impressive array of environmental innovations and serve as a laboratory for learning about various aspects of the field.

"It was my intent to provide Denison with a new capability to suit a new era, it's all a matter of supply and demand. Industry is giving increasing recognition to the discipline, and if Denison is going to be serious about educating people to be leaders in it - people who are well trained, competent, and have the big picture - then it is essential for the program to have a Center like this as its home," McPhail said.

McPhail is an entrepreneur and the founder of Lectron Products Inc. which is a successful original equipment manufacturer of electronic and electro-mechanical products for the automotive industry. Today he is the president of the McPhail Corp. of Rochester Hills, Michigan, as well as several other corporations dealing with aviation and real estate.

This project was especially distinctive because it recycled (reused) an existing building, instead of constructing a new building from the ground up. The new Barney-Davis Hall is a showcase for the reuse of an existing structure, energy-efficiency, sustainability, renewable resources, the reduction of toxins, and the recycling of wastes.

The Barney renovation project was a real-life exercise in environmental education for the students and community of Denison University, and is now used as a working laboratory for education and research. In 1999, a senior Capstone Seminar group performed a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of the newly renovated Barney-Davis Hall

The McPhail commitment on behalf of the Environmental Studies Center complements another gift to the program given by Anne Powell Riley, class of 1953. This donation funded the Directorship of the program which is held by Tom Schultz. An additional commitment from Jeanette Davis, class of 1924, went toward further renovations within the building.