It is with great sadness that I inform you that Jay Baldwin, former professor of Industrial Design at CCA and a pioneer of sustainable design, passed away this past weekend from heart complications.
I am privileged and proud to say that Jay was a part of our CCA community for over 20 years, inspiring generations of CCA students beginning in the 1990s and continuing through his recent retirement in 2016. For many, he was their introduction to theory and practice of sustainability. His Introduction to Industrial Design class introduced sustainable practices to first year students at the very start of their academic journey. He also shared his invaluable knowledge in the CCA class Energetics and Ecology, which during Jay’s time at CCA was made available to undergraduates from a variety of disciplines. In total he taught at ten colleges and universities within his lifetime.
Outside of CCA, Jay was and continues to be recognized for his important contributions to the environmental movement and sustainable design. He was a dedicated student and friend of the American architect, theorist, and inventor Buckminster Fuller and is widely respected as popularizing, testing, and expanding Fuller’s ideas and achievements. His discoveries enabled him to materialize Fuller’s renowned solar “Pillow Dome”- a greenhouse that can raise vegetables year-round and is light enough for urban rooftop gardens. He was an editor for over 30 years of the Whole Earth Catalogue - a counterculture magazine championing self-sufficiency and ecology. He was also a researcher at the New Alchemy Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the Farallones Institute; a steward of the 3,300-acre Pepperwood nature preserve owned by the California Academy of Sciences; a former pilot and whitewater river guide; and much more.
Above all, the most unforgettable part about Jay was his spirit, his conviction, and his undying passion for taking care of the world around us.
On behalf of the College, I extend my condolences to Jay's family, his wife Liz, his friends, his former students, and his former colleagues. Jay’s ideas have influenced generations of CCA students and his spirit lives on within them.
Sincerely,
Stephen Beal
