By Rolf Boone

The Olympian

Three graduates of The Evergreen State College have donated a pair of $1 million gifts to their Olympia-based alma mater, one of which will be used to fund a new center for climate action, the college announced Tuesday.

Christy Holz and Tim Ball, who have been business founders, partners and board members in solar energy companies since the 1980s, have donated $1 million, and fellow graduate John Hennessy, a management consultant and investor, also donated $1 million.

Hennessey graduated from Evergreen in 1977, Holz in 1978 and Ball in 1980, according to an Evergreen alumni directory.

The Holz and Ball gift will launch the Evergreen Center for Climate Action and Sustainability. The center will offer hands-on learning opportunities for students, such as internships and undergraduate research, according to the college.

“Climate action is the greatest opportunity for entrepreneurship, leadership, and purposeful endeavor of our time,” said Holz in a statement. “Transformative change requires transformative education to understand and ultimately solve the challenges ahead. Evergreen is uniquely prepared to educate tomorrow’s leaders who can tackle this very real crisis.”

Hennessey’s $1 million gift will help the college establish a planned giving program to fund scholarships and other college programs.

“I came to Evergreen in the 1970s because it offered optimists like me an education to help make the world a better place,” Hennessey said in a statement. “Evergreen has held on to those values, and the kind of opportunities it provides students are needed more than ever.”

Hennessey added, “I am honored not only to be a part of Evergreen’s history, but to help ensure its vibrant future by inspiring others to join me.”

Holz and Hennessey also serve on the Evergreen foundation’s board of governors.