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Contact: Connie Skipitares, Media Relations/Grant Writing |
Silicon Valley Education Foundation Honors Symantec's John W. Thompson With Award
6th Annual Fundraiser Held
SAN JOSE, CA - John W. Thompson, chairman of the board of Symantec Corporation and one of Silicon Valley's most prominent business and technology leaders, was honored this week for his deep commitment to education with the Silicon Valley Education Foundation's 2010 Pioneer Business Leader Award.
Thompson, who was recently named CEO of Virtual Instruments, received the award at the foundation's 6th annual Pioneers & Purpose dinner Monday night at San Jose's Fairmont Hotel.
The event raised nearly $700,000 for SVEF programs to improve student performance in math and science and programs aimed at SVEF's key mission - to be the number one region in the state with the highest percentage of graduates completing college and forging successful careers.
More than 600 people attended the gala dinner, which featured speeches by Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese; Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Chuck Weis; Emmett D. Carson, CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Muhammed Chaudhry, CEO of SVEF.
"We are very pleased with the success of this night," said Chaudhry. "It is heartwarming to see so many Silicon Valley companies come out to show how much they care about education. It demonstrates how important education is to Silicon Valley and the importance of nurturing the next generation of smart leaders."
Thompson said he was honored to receive the Pioneer Business Leader Award. He stressed the value of education and the need to turn around appallingly low high school graduation rates across the U.S. He called for fiscal reform in California to bring more money to hard-hit schools.
Thompson spent his decade-long tenure at Symantec transforming the leading antivirus software company into a major force in helping customers secure and manage their information. He serves on the national board of Teach for America, an organization dedicated to eliminating educational inequities among all children.
Last year, he was awarded the David Packard Medal of Achievement by TechAmerica, the technology industry's highest award honoring significant lifetime contributions to the high-tech community and distinguished service to the community at large.
"John's contributions to education and technology have made a tremendous impact both here in Silicon Valley and across the globe," said Chaudhry. "His passion for children and public education has transformed lives and helped students better prepare to be tomorrow's leaders."
Faysal Sohail, chairman of SVEF's board of directors, said, "John Thompson's commitment to improving children's lives exemplifies the kind of leadership defined by this award."
The Pioneers & Purpose event received generous corporate sponsorship from The CORE Companies, The Chizen Family Foundation, TriNet, Integrated Archive Systems, General Atlantic, PG&E, SanDisk, Symantec, Flextronics, Oracle, Cisco and Southwest Airlines.
During Monday evening's "Fund-A-Need" segment led by NBC Bay Area news anchor Jessica Aguirre, $125,000 was donated toward programs for children, largely through generous giving by companies and corporate leaders, such as Thompson.
Funds raised at the Pioneers & Purpose event go toward SVEF's STEM Initiative to improve achievement in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as the Lessonopoly open-source website, school readiness programs, Education Forums, and Teacher Innovation Grants that give $500 to teachers for special classroom projects.
Principal of the Year award was given to Destiny Ortega, of the Moreland School District, and Teacher of the Year was Ken Chiu of the Milpitas Unified School District. Prominent leaders who attended the dinner included San Jose Assemblyman Jim Beall; Ron Gonzales, CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley; Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe Systems; Ray Bingham, managing director of General Atlantic; numerous San Jose council members, and many of Silicon Valley's most prominent business and education leaders.
The Pioneer Business Leaders Award has been given to several other exceptional leaders in Silicon Valley since 2005. They include Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers, former Adobe systems CEO Bruce Chizen, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, and H. Raymond Bingham, managing director of General Atlantic.
Thompson, 60, who grew up in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the son of a postal worker and school teacher. His teacher mother was one of his best role models, instilling in him a love of education.
Thompson currently serves on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and has served on the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee and as chair of the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology.
Prior to Symantec, he worked for IBM Corporation for 28 years.
The evening also hosted a presentation by students and a teacher who participated in SVEF's successful "Stepping Up to Algebra" program, which also received money from the night's fundraising.
About SVEF:
Silicon Valley Education Foundation focuses on raising student performance in the critical areas of math and science across Santa Clara County's 33 school districts. Our goal is to be the leading advocate for public education in our region. We are known for our focus on achieving results, partnering and emphasizing creativity and innovation. Beyond serving students, teachers and administrators, we provide value to the larger community by making investing in education easy. www.SVEFoundation.org
