@de anza Home

News Releases

For release: June 5, 2000

To Be Built on the De Anza College Campus

The Kirsch Foundation Awards $2 Million for an Environmental Studies Center

The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation has awarded a $2-million grant to the Foothill-De Anza Community College District to help fund a $12-million, 34,000-square-foot environmental studies center to be built at De Anza College in Cupertino. The energy-efficient, climate-responsive building will be named the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies and will serve as a national model to educate new generations on becoming environmentally aware citizens.

The district's Board of Trustees approved the grant at a regularly scheduled meeting on June 5. The trustees agreed to name the building in honor of Steven and Michele Kirsch and plan to break ground on the center within one year.

"The Kirsch Foundation expects the value of the $2-million grant to be multiplied many times by virtue of new 'green building' standards that should emerge from the successful construction and use of this particular facility," said Kathleen Gwynn, president and CEO of the Kirsch Foundation.

"It is imperative that innovative projects such as this one are supported," she continued. "We can make progress in addressing environmental issues only through demonstrating that energy efficient and renewable energy technologies work. All of us need to tread more lightly on the earth."

The Foundation has assets in excess of $70 million and distributes the wealth according to the overall goal of the Kirsches – to make the world a better place, primarily by focusing on leverageable activities. They were described on the Kirsch Foundation Web site this way: "Steve and Michele Kirsch are convinced that their financial resources need to be strategically deployed in order to address core issues in medicine, the environment, and the community. They are focused on finding solutions and cures, not simply addressing symptoms. This belief is at the core of the Foundation's activities."

For those reasons and more, the Kirsch Foundation decided to fund the environmental center at De Anza. The proposed building fits both the environmental and local community aspects of the Foundation's mission, it will be the first of its kind in this part of the country, and it demonstrates creativity in using various technologies. In addition, the district has already committed $6 million in bond measure funds to the project with the goal of raising the other half through individual and corporate donations.

Steve Kirsch recently founded Propel Software, a company focused on infrastructure for the expanding Internet e-commerce market. He was the chairman and founder of Infoseek Corporation, a leading Internet navigation service that was acquired by Disney last fall. He is known for carrying out what he believes in; he and his wife each drive an electric car, and he speaks out on the importance of philanthropy. Michele Kirsch, a former real estate broker, is a full-time law student at Santa Clara University, is an active community volunteer, and is raising a family with her husband.

The Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies will be built adjacent to the college's 1.5-acre Environmental Studies Area (ESA). It was created in 1971 by faculty member Doug Cheeseman to show students and community members why it is important to value and preserve the environment. The ESA features 12 habitats found only in California, is used extensively as a laboratory by De Anza students, and is toured by thousands of school children every year.

In recent years, the Kirsches have donated in other ways to Foothill-De Anza. They contributed to Foothill College's Center for Innovation and helped sponsor Dr. Stephen Hawking's lectures and visit to De Anza in January.

Julie Phillips, coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program for 10 years, is thrilled with the $2-million gift and said, "For the last decade, faculty, staff and students on our campus have been committed to developing an innovative environmental program and center dedicated to sustainability. Our educational focus will be interdisciplinary and inclusive and will provide us with the opportunity to partner with public and private sectors in such areas as energy and the environment.

"We've worked tirelessly on this endeavor and feel priviledged to share in this vision with Steve and Michele Kirsch who are known for their passion for social and environmental causes," she added. "With this support, we believe we will transform energy policy in California community colleges and in the state of California."

De Anza's Environmental Studies Program has already been recognized by the California Energy Commission with $740,000 in grants to develop a statewide energy management training program for community college personnel responsible for heating, cooling and lighting systems.

Darren Bouton was the first De Anza student representative on the Environmental Studies Building Committee in 1994, recently completed his graduate degree in energy and environmental policy, and has returned to the campus to teach part time in the Environmental Studies Program. "This center will give us the opportunity to integrate the disciplines of policy, economics and science in our efforts to meet environmental challenges in the 21st century," he remarked. "Students will be introduced to a wide variety of topics and problem-solving techniques that they will be able to apply to their everyday lives as well as to their work environments." Bouton's decision to come back to

De Anza was inspired by the chance to help carry out the vision of the center. "I consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I didn't want to miss," he said.

Steve and Michele Kirsch have set high standards of charitable giving in the high-tech community and particularly in Silicon Valley. When the United Way Silicon Valley (formerly the United Way of Santa Clara County) announced an $11-million shortfall in May 1999, the Kirsch Foundation donated $1 million to start an emergency fund to benefit the charities impacted by the shortfall.

The Kirsches have been recognized in various ways for their continued generosity. In April, the Kirsches were ranked No. 96 in Worth magazine's annual list of the "100 Most Generous Americans." In May, Steve Kirsch and the Kirsch Foundation received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the American Lung Association of the Bay Area for promoting the use of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). In 1999, they were honored as the Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.

About the Foundation

The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation reflects the broad charitable interests and passions of its two founders. The Foundation engages both in grantmaking and advocacy activities to effect change.

The Foundation is committed to an extensive array of issues and causes, ranging from curing cancer and other major diseases to environmental issues such as cleaning up the air, and from campaign finance reform and nuclear disarmament to the support of local – Silicon Valley – nonprofit organizations. The Foundation has assets in excess of $70 million and a staff of five. To reach its goals, the Kirsch Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3) charity and as a lobbying organization.

Steve Kirsch and the Foundation were instrumental in the passage of AB 71 which goes into effect July 1, 2000 and allows single-passenger, zero-emission vehicles in carpool lanes. The Foundation is currently working on the passage of SB 1726, a tax credit bill for ZEVs, authored by State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton.

The Kirsch Foundation was formally established in 1999 within the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV). The Kirsches have been active philanthropists since the early 1990s, however, through their donor-advised fund at CFSV. For details, see www.kirschfoundation.org

About De Anza College

Building on its tradition of excellence, De Anza College challenges students of every background to develop their intellect, character and abilities; to achieve their educational goals; and to serve their community in a diverse and changing world. That is the mission of De Anza, which opened in 1967.

De Anza's multicultural community provides a welcoming environment for its enrollment of nearly 25,000 students per quarter. They are provided with a variety of academic choices, convenient services, course-delivery options, and extracurricular activities as they pursue their education in the day, evening or on weekends. In addition to traditional lecture courses, De Anza offers distance learning classes, an Honors Program, interdisciplinary courses, open-entry/exit labs, and collaborative learning courses. Comprehensive services are available in counseling, tutoring, career planning and placement, and financial aid.

De Anza is the top transfer institution in California for the total number of its students who transfer to UC and CSU campuses. Furthermore, De Anza specializes in workforce training for people of all ages and levels of work experience.

Martha J. Kanter has been De Anza's president since 1993. For more information about the college, go to www.deanza.fhda.edu

About the Foothill-De Anza Community College District

As one of the largest community college districts in the United States, Foothill-De Anza provides credit classes for more than 40,000 students per quarter and has an annual general fund budget in excess of $110 million. Known for hiring first-rate individuals, the district employs more than 2,000 full- and part-time faculty and staff.

Leo E. Chavez is Foothill-De Anza's chancellor. The district colleges – De Anza College in Cupertino and Foothill College in Los Altos Hills – are active members of the League for Innovation in the Community College, a national consortium of leading two-year institutions. Refer to www.fhda.edu for more information about Foothill-De Anza.

[ Current Students]   [ Future Students & Parents ]   [ International Students ]   [ Faculty and Staff ]   [Friends & Community ]
[ About De Anza ]   [ Admissions & Registration ]   [ Course Information ]   [ Library ]   [ Student Services ]

Privacy Statement