With a mission to bridge the Digital Divide, Foothill College has transformed a dormant campus facility into a regional technology training center for teachers and renamed it the Krause Center for Innovation (KCI). Made possible by Measure E, state and private funding, the renovated facility provides 18,000 square feet of interactive labs and classrooms. This is the college’s first major project to be completed with Measure E funds.
The KCI will celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and launch party Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Admission is free and the community is invited to attend. In addition to guest remarks, the launch party will include tours of the state-of-the-art facility that houses a digital art gallery, cyber cafe and the college’s largest open-access computer lab, all under a distinctive translucent dome.
The KCI will serve as a regional professional development resource for K-14 teachers. Its mission is to close the Digital Divide and create educational opportunities by improving learning outcomes through technology training and the scholarship of learning. The new center also serves as an effective model for implementing California’s standards-based curriculum in public and private schools.
"The Krause Center’s mission is to close the Digital Divide and create educational opportunities for students and their teachers," said Foothill College President Bernadine Chuck Fong. "Through the KCI and its programs, Foothill College is uniquely positioned to ‘teach the teachers.’"
The KCI is home to many programs dedicated to improving educational outcomes. It is the headquarters for Learning in New Media Classrooms (LINC), an innovative program dedicated to assisting K-14 educators as they learn to integrate technology into their classrooms.
The KCI also hosts the annual Earn While You Learn Institute. This model program provides teachers with a stipend equal to one month’s salary and 10 academic units to study effective technology-integration strategies.
The KCI has developed many partnerships to benefit Bay Area educators. The San Jose State University (SJSU) Instructional Technology Master’s Degree Program is currently offered at the KCI, and in another collaboration with SJSU, the LINC program offers prospective and current educators the opportunity to complete the level-one technology requirements for teacher credentialing. Other partnerships include the Santa Clara and San Mateo County Offices of Education, Industrial Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME), Resource Area for Teachers and Adobe Systems Teach-the-Teacher Program.
The KCI provides internships for graduate students from SJSU and Stanford, and internships for technical students from Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW) in East Palo Alto.
The KCI also offers Foothill students and community members a new home for studying technology. "Foothill students and faculty are being presented a world-class facility and we’re excited to begin offering classes in the KCI this fall," said Foothill College Computers, Technology & Information Systems Division Dean Chuck Lindauer. Students and community members can access the KCI’s lab to study multimedia production, Web design and authoring, e-commerce solutions, digital imaging, presentation software and computer programming.
In addition to Measure E and state funding, the center was made possible through the efforts of Gay Krause, the center’s executive director, who solicited generous contributions from numerous Silicon Valley individuals, corporations and foundations.
"These visionary donors have invested in the future of Silicon Valley," President Fong said. "The college is honored by their generosity and commitment to improving the quality of our educational community."
Major donors who gave $25,000 or more include Susan Ford, Chris and Donna Paisley, Gordon and Betty Moore, John and Tashia Morgridge, The Krause Foundation, Saal Family Foundation, Morgan Family Foundation, Dave House Family Foundation, Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Skoll Community Fund, Vadasz Family Foundation, WYSE Technology, SBC Pacific Bell Telephone Company, Juniper Networks, Inc., and other anonymous valley philanthropists.
In addition to her fund-raising efforts, Gay Krause and her husband, Bill Krause, of The Krause Foundation made a $1 million gift to the center. Gay Krause is a former K-12 educator and administrator. Bill Krause is an early founder of 3Com, who retired as chairman and CEO in 1993, and recently re-engaged as chairman and CEO of Caspian Networks.
In recognition of the efforts and commitment of Gay and Bill Krause, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees officially renamed the facility the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College. The facility had previously been called the Center for Innovation.
With the KCI now in place, fund-raising efforts will continue to expand and develop new programs and make the KCI available to a larger number of eager educators. To support a specific program or scholarship, call Gay Krause at (650) 949-7113.
For more information about the KCI grand opening and the Center’s programs, access www.foothill.edu/kci.
Media Only
You are cordially invited to a preview tour of the Krause Center for Innovation. To arrange a tour or interviews with Foothill College President Bernadine Chuck Fong and KCI Executive Director Gay Krause, please call Foothill College Marketing Director Kurt Hueg at (650) 949-7645.
August 22, 2002
