Gene Matthews - Case Western Reserve University

Nominated by: Case’s (Interim) President Gregory Eastwood; the University’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Hossein Sadid; VP for Operations and Planning Ken Basch; and Linda Robson, the Finance and Administration Fellow for Energy Studies

One building, one conversation, one mind, and one day at a time, Gene Matthews effects positive change at Case Western Reserve University.

Almost 10 years ago, Gene Matthews came to Case from Oberlin College to accept the position of Director of Facilities Services. While at CWRU, Gene has worked in two impactful ways, making him a superb candidate to win this year’s award!

First, and most pertinent to the “energy” category of this award, Gene and his team in the Facilities Services division have been conducting energy conservation and efficiency projects, across our campus, touching every building. Gene has been deeply involved with the construction of new campus buildings, as well as renovations and retrofits made to existing buildings. Hundreds of such projects have involved building envelopes, windows, roofs, lighting, and all aspects of our mechanical systems. As such, Gene has been educating the campus about the importance of energy and the relevance of daily choices.

An example is last year’s lighting retrofit, conducted throughout the Kelvin Smith Library (our main library, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). This project included the installation of motion and daylight sensors, and a reduction of 1500 lamps resulted in a 30% reduction in the building’s energy consumption! Looking at Case’s campus energy consumption patterns we can see (building by building) the benefits of Gene’s creativity and leadership.

Now, if he were reading this nomination over my shoulder, Gene would likely be reaching over the keyboard to correct the account of the library’s retrofit. He would point out that the library example should not be attributed to him, but rather to the Facilities Services electricians (Bob Rae) who devised and lead the KSL retrofit. This is the second reason why we are nominating Gene for this award.

Gene’s leadership style exemplifies the triple bottom line of sustainability, approaching campus sustainability and energy efficiency with enthusiasm and inclusion, all done so in a financially responsible and prudent way. Gene is characterized by authenticity and warmth and is proof that we (as individuals and together in organizations) can do well by doing good. Gene regards his campus customers, Case’s community neighbors, his staff, and colleagues with sincere respect, highlighting and promoting the work of others. It is without hesitation that we nominate Gene, for long overdue acknowledgement of his efforts in promoting sustainability in NE Ohio.