Lane Community College Faculty Member in the Energy Efficiency Program
The most notable thing that stood out when talking to Roger Ebbage was the lively passion he has for teaching at Lane Community College. The most rewarding aspects of his job, he says, is the “triple dip.” He gets to work in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry, help students find their passions, and save energy along the way.
Roger got his start teaching construction to high school students. That’s where he got his first exposure to building design, and the rest just took off. He ended up getting his master’s degree in Passive Solar Building Design, and he relocated to Oregon to pursue teaching energy efficiency at Lane, where he has been leading the program for more than 25 years.
Over the past three decades, the energy efficiency program at Lane has seen its share of challenges. At one point, the program was in danger of being cut from the college – unless they could come up with their own funding. Fortunately for the college and students, Ebbage was able to do just that.
To this day, LCC’s energy efficiency program is independently financed through industry partnerships, external funding, and grants that promote faculty professional development, curriculum design, and collaboration with public utilities.
Teaching with the energy efficiency program has allowed Ebbage to travel the world. He’s been to places like South Africa, New Zealand, and Argentina, teaching others how to create and run a program like his. “I don’t get to take summer vacations,” he says with an enthusiastic laugh.
And somehow, that laugh perfectly captures the essence of Ebbage’s passion for his work.
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2201631. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National ScienceFoundation.
