Yesterday the walls went up on MUM’s new Sustainable Living Center. This building will be completely off the grid with respect to electricity, heating and cooling, water, and waste.

MUM's new zero-energy, off-the-grid campus building

The Sustainable Living Center has been designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard for sustainable design and green building in the world. It will be one of the first three to achieve this.

“There’s no other building like this going up in the nation, or in the world for that matter, that we know of,” said nationally known green building expert Mike Nicklas, who co-designed the building, and whose company Innovative Design has designed over 4,000 buildings that use renewable energy solutions.

Whole Tree Post and Beam Construction

Construction will proceed quickly because the structure uses whole tree post and beam techniques. The walls will be tilted up and roof trusses placed on them. The entire shell of the building should be completed within about a week, and the building is expected to be ready for occupation in late fall.

A Building That Teaches

The Sustainable Living Center will serve students in the university’s Sustainable Living major. It will have classrooms, workshop, meeting room, greenhouse, kitchen, research lab, recycling center, and offices, as well as east and west covered verandas and a porch on the north.

It has been designed as a building that teaches. In addition to embodying sustainability, it will allow students to monitor performance and energy efficiency and make adjustments.

“The Sustainable Living Center will be a living, evolving building,” said David Fisher, head of the MUM Sustainable Living Department, who helped plan the building. “The building itself is an educational tool, not just a passive one like most classroom buildings. It will provide participatory education where students will be continually adding to, or altering, the building and grounds as well as systematically checking its effectiveness.”

Off the Grid

The Sustainable Living Center will be completely off of the energy and utility grid. Every feature will exemplify healthy and sustainable green building and will be geared to teaching those principles.

Construction uses all non-toxic materials from local sources (as defined by the Living Building Challenge requirements). All energy will be provided from solar panels on the building and from an outside wind turbine. Rainwater catchment will be the complete source of the building’s water, with purification of drinking water via ultraviolet technology. Wastewater will be treated onsite using a constructed wetland. Natural daylighting will illuminate the entire interior. Geothermal technology will assist with heating and cooling.

An Embodiment of Sustainability That’s Feasible and Practical

This achievement is noteworthy because none of the systems in the building are new or experimental, according to construction manager Dal Loiselle. “The Sustainable Living Center is being constructed using ‘state-of-the-shelf’ technologies,” he said. “This building proves that we can meet our environmental goals for our built environment with the materials, technologies, and green building protocols we already possess.”

Sustainability has become a major focus at Maharishi University of Management. The University has filed a climate action plan to be 100% carbon neutral by 2020 as part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Welcome back to another installment of Fairfield Stories. Although I’m not keeping to my self-promise to publish more frequently, I hope to heat things up after the vote on May 4!

Today we’re profiling relative newcomer to town, Darryl Jarmasco.

Darryl, his wife and four kids (soon to be a fifth!), moved to Fairfield from Michigan last June. While vacationing in Hawaii, he met some Fairfieldians who told him he had to come. After visiting Fairfield and being highly impressed by the education offered by MSAE, he and his wife were sold and moved here.

I met with Darryl after I received a promotional email about his free seminar at Revelations, tomorrow April 14th from 11:30-1:00PM. I snooped around his website and I figured I’d meet with him, and maybe let people know about his seminar and leave it at that.

Well, not only is he a nice guy, but he is just so full of positive energy that I thought I’d devote this column to him. You see, he is a motivational speaker and although I am typically turned off by people who bill themselves this way, after an hour with him, I can tell you that he is, indeed, motivational.

He is a coach. A person who turned his own life around and, as a result, now helps others to do the same by tapping into the principles he taught himself.  He has found that people  have stories -  beliefs – that they hold on to that hold them back from achieving what they are capable of. So what Darryl does is helps people to get beyond their stories and to establish clarity in the form of purpose. To help them connect to what they really want and why they want it.

So the logical question in his mind is, What is your real challenge and what are the stories and excuses that are holding you back?

We all have patterns. Some of us are lazy, some blissful, and everything in-between. It is all based on emotion and Darryl helps you to understand where this emotion, this energy, comes from. And when you connect with that you can open your mind to what you really want. To moving ahead. To acheiving results…

Sound like hooey? Maybe. But I asked Darryl for success stories which were fairly easy for him to come by. Take that of a guy who works in Chicago at two jobs, 16 hours a day. His real dream was to become a full-time realtor and to give up the other jobs. As Darryl put it, “he was holding on to 20 plus years of conditioning where he was told to be quiet, reserved, to sit down and shut up.” He wasn’t excited. He needed encouragement to feel again… So after only 7 coaching sessions over a 1.5 month period, his client started to cold-call to get listings. And, through a sense of empowerment, plus focus, a positive physiology, and positive language – the client got 2 listings, a bunch of referrals and is starting to thrive.

As Darryl put it, the real magic is how the client is feeling, for he now has a new mindset that he will now have for good, and forever.

Darryl got into this after he had a financial disaster after graduating from college and while in Border’s bookstore, he stumbled on to the self-help book section. After reading numerous books, things started to click for Daryl and as they did, he felt compelled to share that knowledge with others. So he  hooked up with Tony Robbins with the objective of helping people to have the best life they could. He is now a Tony Robbins coach, wrote a book, does numerous speaking engagements, trains, and is challenging himself to become even bigger and better.

Darryl’s family is most important to him. He is spiritual in that he believes in a higher power. He is more interested in meaning and purpose than things. That is what makes him happy.

In addition to giving to people through his business, Darryl is a member of Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce , and helps out at the MSAE when he can. He loves taking his family on the trail system, and truly appreciates the community – in the form of the wonderful people he has met and continues to meet. Darryl also writes a column for our friends at the Iowa Source about concious living.

If you want know more about yourself, to challenge yourself, and to grow. As Darryl passionately put it “Do it now. Find it now. Be bold” and check out Darryl at Revelations, or visit his website.

MUM students take one full-time course per month, instead of juggling 4-5 classes at once

Spring break is upon us, which means college finals are just around the corner. For anyone who’s taken a full college course load, the term “finals week” probably conjures the same image: late nights, lots of cramming, and plenty of coffee.

This scenario is an accepted part of the college experience. But is taking 4-5 classes at once the only approach—can you really absorb and retain knowledge this way?

Maharishi University of Management is one of a handful of colleges that use a different schedule, called the block system. Instead of juggling multiple subjects at once, students are immersed in one full-time course per month. They focus on one subject with the same professor every weekday (plus Saturday morning). When the course is done, students take one final exam, then move on to the next block after a 3-day weekend.

For example, a business major might take a block on accounting, then a block on marketing, followed by a block on human resource management.

Students say the block system helps them learn more with less effort and remember what they’ve studied. The system also has advantages for students at both ends of the academic spectrum:

• High achievers can go deeper into the subject. Without the distraction of other courses, they might tackle extra projects and labs or add their own research and readings. Plus, they have the professor’s undivided attention throughout the block.
• Weaker students who might be overwhelmed by a typical college workload can succeed without the stress of multiple classes, even though a block covers the same amount of material as a traditional semester-long course.

Nearly all students enjoy the flexibility afforded by the block system. For instance, if someone needs a few weeks off to work, travel, or recover from an extended illness, they simply withdraw from the block. Rather than blowing an entire semester, they’ve only dropped one course, which they can make up another time.

MUM also has a study-abroad program called Rotating University, wherein students travel with their classmates & professor for one month. It’s simple to schedule because nobody is missing any other classes. Perhaps they’ll study travel writing in France, art history in Italy, leadership & adventure sport in New Zealand, or Indian culture and spirituality.

Of course, the block system isn’t without drawbacks. For some subjects, the intensity of studying them all day everyday is a challenge itself. There’s less time for students to “process” what they learn, which can make things like math and science tricky. Literature students may plough through an entire novel every other day.

Yet despite these issues, the block system remains very popular with MUM’s students.

“You don’t get distracted,” says recent graduate Agata Sidorkiewicz of Chicago. “There’s one thing you’re learning, and you kind of become the subject. You don’t have to learn it from the outside. It’s more like you enter the subject and learn it naturally. Everything becomes easy.”

In other words, hold the coffee.

The annual History Fair for the district served by the Great Prairie Area Education Agency was held March 16 at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, with schools from 15 surrounding cities attending. Eleven Maharishi School students were selected to advance to the state competition, being held May 3rd in Des Moines at the Sate Historical Building.

This year’s theme was “Innovation in History: Impact and Change.” Innovation suggests creative new approaches to any facet of life, within a historical context. This was a challenging topic, and students had to keep the entire theme in mind as they researched and created their presentations. Students presented their topics as a website, documentary, poster exhibit, performance, or historical paper. Only two projects in each category were chosen to advance to the state History Fair.

The students’ history teacher was Catherine Wadsworth. “All of the students did an amazing job; they developed their research and computer skills,” said Ms. Wadsworth. “The students challenged their arguments and developed critical thinking. Every one of them created fantastic projects.”

front: Bimba Shrestha, Navin Singh. middle: David Fleshman, Mickey DeAngelis, Alexander Hauptman, Dia Huggins, Heilani Muehlman, Leanna Miller, Camille Goodale and Hifza Akber, Solaris Nite

The Maharishi School winners are: Navin Singh, How the Camera Changed our Lives, an individual exhibit; David Fleshman and Mickey DeAngelis, Braille: Illuminating Darkness, Advancing Society, a group exhibit; Camille Goodale and Hifza Akber, Sign Language: The Unspoken, a group documentary; Leanna Miller and Heilani Muehlman, The Grapevine of Ballet and Isadora Duncan Dance, a group documentary; Dia Huggins, Biofuel: Why Now? Why Not Before?, a historical paper; Bimba Shrestha, Music Television Changed Music, a website; Alexander Hauptman and Solaris Nite, Antibiotics, a website.

Thanks to Catherine Wadsworth, Kathy Shaw, Karen Price and numerous parent volunteers who put in a tremendous effort to make the event successful for all.

The History Day competition is sponsored by the National History Day Foundation in collaboration with the State Historical Society of Iowa.

This week I thought I’d try something new and collect the best locally produced videos that made it onto the Internet this week.

Purple Asteroid Cadillac = Iowa Hip-Hop

PurpleAsteroidCadillac is a local band looking to shed some light on Iowa Hip-Hop. I like it!

Coal Train Short

I’m not totally clear on the context, but apparently some one who’s a fan of trains spotted something rare rumbling through Fairfield this week. It’s also a great short – get ready to cover your ears.

MSAE Senior Class Sings ‘Let It Be’

It certainly beats the Night Ranger song that my high school class sang back in the 80s.

A Move For Jason Lee Goodwin

In honor of Jason Lee Goodwin, family and friends moved a house in Fairfield, Iowa.

Yes, it’s been a while since our last Fairfield Story, but I’m back to tell you about Rustin Lippincott.

Recruited to Fairfield to be the Executive Director of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Rustin was soon asked to become the Executive Director of the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center as well.

A single dad, who recently became engaged to Lindsay Haskins of Cedar Falls, Rustin is a native Iowan having grown up in Ft. Madison where he competed in wrestling, football, and baseball.

After college, Rustin worked in an ad agency in Cedar Falls which tapped his innate talent to promote. After the agency, he worked for the Cedar Valley Catholic school district, where he marketed the value and benefits of a religious education and the student athletes – whom he was integrally involved with as their football and wrestling coach. Not only did he hone his promotional skills there, but he also learned a lesson about how the decisions not-for-profit boards make for the good of the organization are not always the most popular in the community.

He was soon recruited by the city of  Nauvoo to lead efforts to promote their unique community as the director of their Convention and Visitors Bureau. In Nauvoo, Rustin had the opportunity to promote a piece of American history, and became as passionate about promoting Nauvoo and its history to prospective visitors as the residents were about their community.  Ironically, Nauvoo had a unique set of challenges, as the people who had lived there for generations were initially at odds with newcomers. Those newcomers were the Mormons who regard Nauvoo as a major part of their religious history. As a result, many have chosen to reside there and many Mormon visitors from around the world are drawn there – sound somewhat familiar?

Rustin has gleaned a lot from each of these experiences. Most notably, his ability to find the balance between unique groups and to galvanize their individual passions to become one that  promotes the economic values of tourism. Which, as Rustin aptly puts it “gets each group to where they want to go.”

This is not only true of the City of Fairfield, but in his role at the FACC where he seeks to mend fences and to bring everyone in town with a stake in the future of Fairfield to join together to support the Center for the betterment of the entire community.

Rustin resides in town with his daughter Jada, and when asked what he loves most about Fairfield, he sincerely had trouble keeping his response to less than 20 minutes. So when pressed, he summed it up as being with Jada and to attend events as a regular guy having fun with family and friends – to not be “on the job.” He loves to eat out in town and while doing so, to people watch,  thoroughly enjoying Fairfield’s diversity.

In addition to running the CVB and the FACC, Rustin serves on the boards of the Fairfield Beautification Commission, FPAC, The Volunteer Center and Rotary. He is also Iowa’s representative on the Tri-State Development and Tourism Taskforce as well as the VP of Marketing for the Eastern Iowa Tourism Association.

Rustin believes that Fairfield’s  unique selling proposition is that we are like a big city in small town Iowa. We’re heavily influenced by arts and culture and a strong manufacturing community, yet supported by Midwestern values. He believes we have the “best of both worlds” right here in our backyard. And he wants residents to come out and experience everything that visitors are coming to Fairfield to do and to enjoy our community as much as they do.

His role with the FACC is a natural, as it is one of the many assets we have that draw meetings and visitors to town. What he loves about it, is that the FACC provides residents with a great venue to host activities and to feature the community’s talents. He also loves that it’s a gathering place for all generations -  kids, adults, and seniors. Rustin is working hard for it to become the entertainment hub in Fairfield doing everything from hosting weddings and the high school prom, to trade shows, and featuring performers of all kinds. With all that the Center provides the community, he just wants it  to be on peoples’ minds when they are looking for something to do to have fun. To be in the mix and to be known as a place where there is always something to do for practically everyone in town…

Rustin clearly loves both of his jobs. He is passionate about promoting the unique community that Fairfield has become. For as he likes to say “Fairfield offers something for everyone, and you don’t have to look very far for something that will make you smile.”

And smiles are something that Rustin Lippincott always seems to have something to do with…