Photograph by George Sakkestad
Carmen Cheung uses the new Learning Center at De Anza College.
By NATASHA COLLINS
The new learning center at De Anza College is nearly complete, and comedian Bill Cosby will help furnish it.
More than $4 million is needed to finish the learning center, and Cosby, a well-known supporter of education, will perform at the Flint Center on May 2 to help raise funds. All proceeds from Cosby's performance will be used for the project.
The money brought in by the show will help buy furniture and computer equipment and establish a library endowment fund, said Ralph Steinke, dean of learning resources. "The endowment fund will be used to buy library materials and upgrade equipment," Steinke said.
The A. Robert DeHart Learning Center, which includes the campus library, was expanded to meet the needs of De Anza's growing population, said Terri O'Connor, De Anza's communications director. "The library was built for approximately 5,000 students," O'Connor said. "We have nearly five times that many using the library now and needed to expand."
More than 3,559 Sunnyvale residents--14 percent of De Anza's total population--utilize the community college's facilities. Approximately 2,174 students from Cupertino attend De Anza.
When completed, the three-story building will encompass more than 67,000 square feet and will be one of the largest facilities on campus. The library will seat more than 1,200 students, twice what it did before, said Janice D. Winkel, a De Anza College spokeswoman.
"We have a lot of great things going on in this building," Winkel said.
The Library Instruction Lab, Open Media Lab and the Educational Diagnostic Center will be located in the new building. The College Readiness Program, Television Center and Distance Learning Center will also be housed in the new addition.
In the Library Instruction Lab, more than $50,000 worth of equipment still needs to be purchased in order to assist students in learning how to access information through the computer. "All the computers will be linked to the Internet," O'Connor said. "Students can learn how to use the Internet here." All the computers currently in the lab are new, and many were donated by the student government, she added.
Students come to the open media lab to get media materials and related equipment. Televisions and VCRs line the perimeter of the room, and more than 80 computers occupy the center. "Students can come to the media lab and view a class lecture they have missed," Winkel said. "They can also work on projects on the computer if they need a little extra time outside their computer classes."
The added space for the Educational Diagnostic Center will come in handy in helping students with learning disabilities, Winkel said. More than 450 students receive tutoring, testing and assistance for learning disabilities at the center each year. The center is also a model for universities and colleges throughout the nation.
"The center makes a difference in whether a student is successful in college or not," Winkel said. "We have a lot of students come here and get tested and treated for a learning disability for the first time."
Students helped design the rooms, order equipment and install the hardware for the new Television Center, which maintains the two production studios for video conferencing, the education channel and telecourses. More than $128,000 is needed to complete the Television Center.
"The students who worked on this project have gained skills necessary for when they leave the school," O'Connor said. "They have learned how to do just about everything there is to know about the television business."
Many of the new facilities are open, but the school hopes to have everything up and running by the grand opening ceremonies on May 2. "We have combined the grand opening with Cosby's speech," Winkel said. "We hope that at least all the landscaping will be completed in time."
Tickets for Cosby's speech are available through the Flint Center box office at 864-8816 or at BASS ticket outlets. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show range from $25.50 to $150.50. Tickets for the 9 p.m. show are $25.50 to $75.50.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.