Clay Felker, legendary editor and founder of UC Berkeley's Felker Magazine Center, dies
Clay Felker, an innovative editor known for his pathbreaking work in American magazines and the namesake of the Felker Magazine Center at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, died today (Tuesday, July 1) at the age of 82.
(01 July)

Harry Le Grande named vice chancellor for student affairs
After a nationwide search, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau today (Thursday, June 26) named Harry Le Grande to the permanent post of vice chancellor for student affairs. Le Grande, who has worked at UC Berkeley for 27 years, has been serving as the campus's interim vice chancellor for student affairs since January 2007.
(26 June)

Confused about the stadium ruling? What it says and what remains to be resolved
The NewsCenter revisits last week's ruling on construction of the Student-Athlete High Performance Center — in which UC Berkeley prevailed in nearly every legal challenge — and details the few remaining questions expected to be resolved by the court in the coming days.
(23 June)

Campus officials declare 'a major victory for our students' in judge's ruling on student-athlete center
UC Berkeley officials said Wednesday night that the campus has prevailed on virtually every challenge raised in a lawsuit that sought to halt construction of the university's planned Student-Athlete High Performance Center adjacent to its historic California Memorial Stadium.
(18 June)

Judge's ruling on student-athlete center is 'a major victory for our students'
UC Berkeley officials said Wednesday night (June 18) that the campus had prevailed on virtually every legal challenge in a trio of lawsuits that sought to halt construction of the planned Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
(18 June)

Biologist Gunther Stent has died at 84
Gunther S. Stent, a refugee from Nazi Germany who helped lay the foundations for the field of molecular biology and then moved into the study of neurobiology and consciousness, died June 12 of pneumonia at the age of 84.
(17 June)

Campus begins removing gear from tree-sitters' site outside Memorial Stadium
In anticipation of an imminent court ruling on the construction of a new facility for student athletes at UC Berkeley, the university began early Tuesday morning to cut cables and remove tree-sitters' gear and unoccupied structures just below Memorial Stadium, where protesters have been occupying a grove of oak trees for 18 months.
(17 June)

International investment banker Frank Yeary joins UC Berkeley as new vice chancellor
Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau has appointed leading international finance banker and UC Berkeley alumnus Frank D. Yeary as a new vice chancellor. Yeary, who resigns as global head of mergers and acquisitions for Citigroup, will report directly to Birgeneau and will advise the chancellor, the executive vice chancellor and provost, and their senior staff on strategic planning and financial issues important to the campus.
(16 June)

New UC Berkeley gateway website debuts
After an eight-year run, UC Berkeley's current main website was replaced by a newly redesigned gateway site that debuted Saturday, June 14. The new site is the fourth distinct version of www.berkeley.edu since its debut in 1995.
(14 June)

From Sacramento, good news, bad news for Berkeley budget
Gov. Schwarzenegger's May budget revision restored $100 million for the UC system, but it still falls $240 million short of what regents wanted — and the Berkeley campus is certain to feel the pinch. In a Q&A, Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom discusses the likely impacts of cuts from the state and what's being done at Berkeley to cope with reduced funding.
(11 June)

Union protest pre-empts chancellor's annual meeting with staff
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's annual question-and-answer session with staff ended before it had a chance to begin Thursday, when union members seeking his support for raises for the lowest-paid campus employees took over the meeting
(06 June)

PG&E incentives lead to significant savings
Energy conservation on campus profits from partnership with utility.
(04 June)

Charles Henry receives Chancellor’s Award
Charles Henry, professor of African American Studies, has received the Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence for outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and public service that promote diversity and equal opportunity.
(04 June)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(04 June)

Students win $180,000 to tackle world's problems
Among the 50 student projects that received a total of $179,000 in the third "Bears Breaking Boundaries" competition this year are proposals to help new mothers in Nigeria and orphans in Nepal, and to encourage bike sharing and energy efficiency in Berkeley.
(03 June)

Mathematician Murray Protter has died at 90
Murray Protter, a former chair of the mathematics department whose calculus textbook sold more than a million copies in the 1960s and '70s, died May 1 at his home in Berkeley of congestive heart failure. He was 90.
(02 June)

'My fellow graduates'
At UC Berkeley graduation ceremonies in May, outstanding new graduates were among those who spoke from the podium. Hear an audio sampling from six of their addresses.
(29 May)

Historian Stovall named L&S undergraduate dean
The Undergraduate Division of the College of Letters and Science will have a new dean beginning July 1 with the appointment of Tyler Stovall, a respected history professor who has made modern France, race, labor, and class issues his specialties.
(22 May)

Take a sneak peak at the new UC Berkeley Gateway site
A newly redesigned UC Berkeley campus "gateway" website will soon replace the current main site, and users are invited to take the new site out for a spin in its beta-test phase at http://homepage.berkeley.edu.
(20 May)

Graduating senior may have fallen to his death Saturday
Campus officials learned Saturday (May 17) that a 22-year-old UC Berkeley student died from what police say may have been a fall from the third-story roof of his apartment building in the 2600 block of Durant Street. Berkeley Police are continuing to investigate with the assistance of the University of California Police Department until a definitive cause of death can be determined.
(18 May)

Police chief's retirement and rehire 'meticulously' followed UC policies, Brostrom tells panel
Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom, seeking to clarify facts and correct what he said was misinformation related to the retirement and rehiring of UC Berkeley Police Chief Victoria Harrison, told members of the state Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education last week that "Chief Harrison did not receive any special treatment in either her retirement package or in her compensation at rehire." Rehiring her on a contract to provide continuity during a time of especially challenging public safety demands was in the best interest of the campus, he said
(15 May)

A message to the UC Berkeley community from Chancellor Robert Birgeneau
In a message regarding the fatal shooting that took place near campus yesterday, Chancellor Birgeneau expresses UC Berkeley's commitment to working with the city of Berkeley to abate street crime, and outlines immediate actions the campus has taken.
(14 May)

On sexual and gender diversity
A statement of principle from Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau.
(08 May)

New campus-wide alliance for global health launches May 14
From projects to prevent mothers from dying during childbirth to the development of low-cost treatments and diagnostics for drug-resistant tuberculosis, UC Berkeley is bringing together global health research from across the campus in an ambitious interdisciplinary initiative to be officially launched on Wednesday, May 14.
(08 May)

Berkeley Citations awarded to Cummins, SPH’s Spear
Two longtime Berkeley luminaries — a scholar whose work has had a significant impact on public health from California to China, and a senior administrator who has played a pivotal role in crisis management as the top aide to four different chancellors — have been awarded the Berkeley Citation for their “distinguished achievement and notable service to the university” over careers here that together represent nearly three-quarters of a century.
(08 May)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(08 May)

Craigslist founder to give commencement speech
Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, the hip and ubiquitous classified advertising Web site, says he'll be winging his keynote speech to graduating seniors at UC Berkeley's Commencement Convocation next Tuesday, May 13. But overall, Newmark says he will urge students to change the world using the tools of the Internet, and to follow these simple business do's and don'ts: "Never read a prepared speech unless you're really good at it; for a genuine perspective on corporate life, read Dilbert; and brevity is the soul of wit."
(08 May)

Top graduating senior an infectious disease detective
If there were an award for the world's most timid child, Leslie Chung-Lei Sheu would have won it as a youngster for her deep discomfort with the unknown. Today, after myriad challenges, the plucky, gregarious UC Berkeley senior is the winner of a much more fitting prize. Sheu's dogged scientific curiosity, academic success and empathy for the downtrodden have earned her the University Medal, the campus's top honor for a graduating senior.
(08 May)

A message to the UC Berkeley community from Chancellor Robert Birgeneau
In a message regarding the tragic slaying of Cal senior Christopher Wootton, Chancellor Birgeneau extends condolences to the engineering student's family, and urges members of the campus community to seek assistance and support if needed in this time of stress.
(03 May)

Two profesors elected to American Philosophical Society
Professors Francesca Rochberg and Randy Schekman are new members of the American Philosophical Society, the nation's oldest learned society. Three UC Berkeley alumni also are among the society's 38 new members.
(02 May)

John Cummins puts controversy behind him
After 36 years at Berkeley — including two tumultuous decades in a job that often put him in the eye of the hurricane, from political protests to hostage crises and acts of God — the "utility infielder" for four different chancellors calls it a day.
(30 April)

For a beloved maestro, a very grand finale
Cal Performances’ 2008-09 season will be an extended sendoff for its longtime director, Robert Cole, featuring a wealth of celebrated performers, promising emerging artists, and newly created works in 10 series: Classical and Modern Dance, Theater, Recital, Opera, Chamber Music and Orchestra, Music Before 1850, World Stage, Jazz, 20th-Century Music and Beyond, and Strictly Speaking.
(30 April)

A new leader named for university communications
Claire Holmes, a senior Bay Area executive in national media and public relations, joins the Berkeley campus on Thursday, May 1, as its associate vice chancellor for university communications. She will serve as the lead communications adviser to the chancellor, vice chancellors, and deans of schools and colleges and will lead a team of professionals working in media relations, Web and campus communications, design, visitor and parent services, executive communications, and strategic communications.
(30 April)

Laurels
Recent faculty and staff honors and awards.
(30 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(30 April)

High environmental certification for Haste Street Center
Officials will gather today (Tuesday, April 29) to celebrate the University of California, Berkeley's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-silver certified building - the Haste Street Child Development Center - which also is the state's first freestanding LEED-silver certified child care center.
(29 April)

Five faculty elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Five UC Berkeley faculty members are among 212 scholars, scientists, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders elected April 28 to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, bringing the campus's total membership in AAAS to 227.
(28 April)

Understanding Underhill
A five-block stretch south of campus has been transformed since 2001 by the Underhill Area Projects, an ambitious — and controversial — effort to address such longstanding university needs as student housing, dining and parking facilities, and office space. Its ultimate success awaits the judgment of history, architectural and otherwise. But if you're looking for an overview of Underhill, it's all right here.
(24 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(23 April)

Chancellor, student leaders sign new plan for multicultural center
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau and student leaders today (Wednesday, April 16) signed an agreement that is expected to improve the look and operation of the campus's multicultural center.
(16 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(16 April)

Campus releases freshman admission data
Campus officials today (Monday, April 14) announced that they have offered admission to 12,616 high school students for the 2008-2009 school year, following an exceptionally competitive admissions cycle propelled by a marked increase in applications.
(14 April)

The Torture Memos and Academic Freedom
In an open letter, Christopher Edley, Jr., dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, discusses law professor John Yoo's "torture memos" for the Bush administration in the context of Yoo's employment at UC Berkeley and academic freedom.
(11 April)

Honoring those who keep the place running
35 campus staffers, many of whom perform essential work far outside the limelight, were singled out as COSA winners in an April 3 ceremony at International House.
(09 April)

A chronicle of Berkeley: Nut Hill, chained suffragettes, and all
The town and the campus are joined at the historical hip, says Berkeley City College prof Charles Wollenberg.
(09 April)

Fruit and flowers honor a teacher who ‘knows her stuff’
This year’s student-initiated Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching goes to Ananya Roy.
(09 April)

Latest U.S. News graduate rankings spotlight Berkeley’s breadth
U.S. News & World Report last week published new rankings of American graduate programs in professional fields and other areas of study, with the assessments continuing to show Berkeley’s academic excellence across a broad range of disciplines.
(09 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(09 April)

Medieval history professor, devoted to students, dead at 79
Gerard Caspary, a UC Berkeley, professor emeritus of medieval history known for his powerful intellect and his exceptional devotion to his students, died at his home in Berkeley this weekend. He was 79.
(09 April)

Regents pick University of Texas chancellor to lead UC system
The Board of Regents voted unanimously last week to appoint Mark Yudof, current head of the University of Texas system and a recognized leader in American higher education, the 19th president of the University of California.
(02 April)

Cal Day annual open house
Cal Day, UC Berkeley's annual open house, offers visitors the chance to become a UC Berkeley student for the day on Saturday, April 12.
(02 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(02 April)

Free Photo Booth "school portraits" will capture Cal's diversity
Members of the campus community can show and tell what UC Berkeley means to them with the April 3-4 visit of portrait photographer Christopher Irion's Photo Booth at Dwinelle Plaza. These free "school portraits" aim to capture the diversity of Cal in images and words for an upcoming community "billboard," due to be unveiled in the fall.
(01 April)

Greek houses, co-ops gain access to emergency supply caches, disaster training
UC Berkeley students and campus and city officials have launched a first-in-the-nation student disaster-preparedness program, under which the more than 2,500 Berkeley students who live in fraternities, sororities and cooperative housing will receive six caches of emergency supplies as well as training to help them respond to major earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.
(20 March)

A new honor for indefatigable former faculty
The first Dickson Emeriti Professorship recognizes the ongoing work of Joseph Duggan.
(19 March)

New Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(19 March)

UC Regents review preliminary conceptual design for new BAM/PFA
The University of California Regents Committee on Grounds and Buildings today (Tuesday, March 18) got its first peek at Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects' preliminary conceptual design for a new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) near the main western entrance to the UC Berkeley campus.
(18 March)

C.V. Starr East Asian Library to open March 17
The University of California, Berkeley's new C.V. Starr East Asian Library - the first freestanding structure at a United States university erected solely for East Asian collections - will open its stately bronze doors to the public on Monday, March 17.
(14 March)

Better uses for campus trees
UC Berkeley planning analyst Steven Finacom was strolling across campus on Tuesday, camera in hand, when he came across an impropmtu bit of landscape art.
(12 March)

A peer-to-peer-support resource is born
The Disability Staff Resource Network aims to empower employees seeking workplace accommodations.
(12 March)

Accrediting commission notes UC compensation and governance reforms
Following a report of a special-visit team, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) has issued a letter to the University of California validating the university’s reforms in compensation and governance matters and urging continued progress in these areas.
(12 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(12 March)

All in the job family
Beginning this week, the campus’s Career Compass project moves into its next phase, with supervisors reviewing the job descriptions of their non-represented employees and then “mapping” them into the new job structure created through the multi-year project.
(05 March)

UC to offer admission to all eligible undergraduates for 2008-09
The University of California will continue to offer admission in fall 2008 to all undergraduate applicants who meet its eligibility requirements, despite the fact that the governor’s budget proposes to cut state funding for the university in 2008-09, UC officials announced last week.
(05 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(05 March)

Campus and new Saudi university announce partnership
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the University of California, Berkeley, today (Tuesday, March 4) announced their partnership in the Academic Excellence Alliance (AEA), designed to establish joint research, collaborate in the design of the academic curriculum, and identify and nominate the founding faculty in mechanical engineering for the new University. KAUST is a new international, graduate-level research university opening in Saudi Arabia in 2009.
(04 March)

Keeping the fruits of knowledge within reach
With subscription costs for traditional academic journals on the rise, the newly launched Berkeley Research Impact Initiative offers subsidies to campus scholars wishing to take the open-access publishing route, and hope for a new model of sustainability.
(27 February)

The Promise of Berkeley
A colorful, thrice-yearly magazine, The Promise of Berkeley is sent to more than 100,000 alumni and friends of UC Berkeley to keep them in touch with campus research and personalities. The most recent issue focuses on the commitment to public service that is a fundamental Berkeley value for students and faculty alike.
(27 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(27 February)

Shooting emergencies: UC police are trained to respond; learn what you should do
In the wake of recent campus tragedies, universities across the country have reassessed and are stepping up their preparedness to respond to a campus shooting or other critical emergency. At UC Berkeley, the UC Police Department is trained for such emergencies, and offers online tips for the campus community on how to respond if a shooting should occur.
(20 February)

Top UC administrator coming to Berkeley as associate chancellor
Linda Morris Williams, who rose through the ranks to become associate president of the UC system and chief policy adviser to President Robert Dynes, will soon join the Berkeley campus as Associate Chancellor – Government, Community, and Campus Liaison. Williams will take over a number of responsibilities from John Cummins, associate chancellor and chief of staff for the Chancellor’s Immediate Office, who is retiring in June after 36 years on campus.
(20 February)

Ang Lee’s films to be focus of ‘On the Same Page’ program
Freshmen and transfer students entering the College of Letters and Science next fall will be asked to watch two of celebrated film director Ang Lee’s productions— Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm — as part of L&S's signature program, "On the Same Page." Lee and his longtime collaborator and screenwriter, Berkeley alumnus James Schamus, will be the program’s featured speakers and will visit the campus in October.
(20 February)

Chancellor's chair in equity and inclusion announced
A new $5 million chair devoted to leading-edge research and teaching on equity and inclusion in society was announced today. The Robert D. Haas Chancellor's Chair in Equity and Inclusion is being established in large part through a gift from the Levi Strauss Foundation.
(19 February)

Chancellor Birgeneau extends condolences on shootings at Northern Illinois University
In a message to the campus community, Chancellor Birgeneau expresses UC Berkeley's sorrow over Thursday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, and talks of steps taken at Berkeley and elsewhere to respond to similar crises.
(15 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(13 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(06 February)

Chancellor Birgeneau on keeping public universities affordable: ‘We have to start now’
Even before Harvard announced plans to extend financial aid to students from families with incomes up to $180,000, Chancellor Birgeneau was addressing the challenge of ensuring that qualified low- and middle-income students could afford to attend UC Berkeley. In this interview with the Berkeleyan, he talks about what he's learned — and what needs to be done.
(30 January)

Applications sought for Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund
The University of California, Berkeley is inviting local community groups to apply for grants from the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund for 2008-2009. Non-profit organizations and neighborhood groups based in the city of Berkeley that propose projects in partnership with the campus to improve the quality of life for city residents are eligible to apply for funding.
(30 January)

Campus issues statement of environmental commitment
A milestone in the Berkeley campus's efforts to measure and mitigate its impact on the environment, this “statement of commitment to the environment” was approved as campus policy in November 2007.
(30 January)

New director in place to coordinate campus sustainability efforts
Lisa McNeilly starts work as the campus’s first director of sustainability on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The position, reporting to Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom, will (in the words of Chancellor Birgeneau) “better coordinate the many initiatives currently under way to reduce the long-term environmental impact of campus operations.”
(30 January)

Campus joins national Focus the Nation "teach-in" with Jan. 31 global warming symposium
On Thursday, Jan. 31, UC Berkeley will join more than 1,500 institutions - most of them colleges and universities - across the United States in hosting an all-day symposium called "Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America."
(28 January)

Court will not rule on new student-athlete training center lawsuits until sometime after March 7
A ruling will not be issued until sometime after March 7 on the three consolidated lawsuits over planned construction of UC Berkeley's new student-athlete training center, to be situated west of California Memorial Stadium.
(25 January)

Campus to remove diseased Monterey pines from Gill Tract in Albany
A stand of diseased Monterey pines will be removed from the campus’s Gill Tract property in Albany beginning Monday, Jan. 28. A majority of these pines are infected with pitch canker, a fungal disease that weakens susceptible trees, leaving them vulnerable to fatal infestation by bark beetles.
(23 January)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(23 January)

Albert Bowker, innovative UC Berkeley chancellor during 1970s, dies at age 88
Albert H. Bowker, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert in statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died Sunday in a retirement home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 88 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
(20 January)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(16 January)

New Web site highlights campus's 2008 election experts
As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up and attention begins to turn to the Feb. 5 California primary, expect to see more UC Berkeley experts quoted in the print and broadcast media.
(10 January)

Experts available regarding presidential campaign
UC Berkeley experts from a variety of disciplines and perspectives are available to discuss issues and developments in the U.S. presidential race, especially as attention turns to the Feb. 5 California primary. A listing of key experts, along with background on their areas of expertise and research, is available on a new elections web page created by the Media Relations office.
(10 January)

Professor wins Mellon prize for influential unconventional research
University of California, Berkeley, professor Thomas W. Laqueur has been selected as a Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award recipient for his influential study of such unconventional topics as the history of sexuality, death and dying, and the body and gender. He and the campus will receive approximately $1.5 million.
(03 January)

Neil Henry to lead journalism school
Neil Henry, a longtime Washington Post reporter and Newsweek staff writer who joined the Graduate School of Journalism faculty in 1993, has been appointed to serve as dean of journalism, pending approval by UC President Robert Dynes and the Board of Regents.
(19 December)

Forum begins sustained conversation about ways to foster female staff's success at UC
During a recent lunch hour, female campus staffers filled Sibley Hall to chew on a meaty topic — obstacles to women's advancement at UC Berkeley. UCOP leaders facilitated the Dec. 7 forum as part of the Creating Change Initiative, a systemwide effort to develop a strategy to address the advancement of women at UC.
(19 December)

Judge delays ruling on student-athlete center suit
A ruling may not be issued until February on the three consolidated lawsuits over planned construction of UC Berkeley’s new student-athlete center, to be situated west of California Memorial Stadium. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller announced the delay late Monday; she had been expected to rule no later than January 11.
(12 December)

Recruitment effort is launched for three dean positions
The office of the vice provost for academic affairs and faculty welfare invites nominations and applications for three decanal positions currently open at Berkeley: dean of University Extension; dean of the College of Chemistry; and dean of the Division of Biological Sciences in the College of Letters and Science.
(06 December)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(06 December)

VèVè Clark, cosmopolitan African diaspora scholar, dies at 62
VèVè Amasasa Clark, an associate professor of African American studies at UC Berkeley, and a literary scholar who coined the term "diaspora literacy," died Dec. 1 at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley after being found at home in a coma. She was 62.
(06 December)

Fall 2007 student enrollment data released
More than 34,900 students, including 9,000 new freshman, transfer and graduate students, are currently enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, according to final enrollment data released by campus officials today (Monday, Dec. 3).
(03 December)

Paleontologist Joseph Gregory has died at 93
Joseph T. Gregory, a professor emeritus of paleontology at UC Berkeley who was well known for his studies of fossil amphibians and reptiles as well as for his contributions to the history of vertebrate paleontology, died Nov. 18 in Houston, Texas, at age 93.
(29 November)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(28 November)

At Academic Senate meeting, salary increases take center stage
UC Berkeley faculty will receive a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase and a market adjustment to the salary scales, to bring them closer to market rates.
(13 November)

A cool, green place to be
Sierra, the 1.2-million circulation national magazine of the Sierra Club, has named the University of California system one of America’s Top 10 “coolest” schools for its efforts to stop global warming.
(08 November)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(08 November)

November is Open Enrollment month
Open Enrollment for UC’s health-and-welfare benefits plans runs from Nov. 1 through Nov. 27. This is an important Open Enrollment for UC faculty and staff because the university has restructured medical-plan options for 2008 to help preserve meaningful choices and quality benefits while limiting cost increases, ensuring that faculty and staff will continue to have access to quality health benefits at competitive prices in 2008.
(31 October)

Career Compass responds to feedback
The Career Compass team has been busy since the spring, holding open-information sessions that have reached more than 1,250 campus employees, as well as launching a new website, disseminating new performance-evaluation forms for the 2008 cycle, and publishing more than 330 separate job standards.
(31 October)

Laurels
Honors, awards, and other faculty and staff achievements of note.
(31 October)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(31 October)

Ideas and reaction sought on report examining People's Park future
Comments sought on 9-month study to examine current and future state of People's Park.
(25 October)

‘We had the vision, but not the opportunity’
The 10 programs approved for funding by BILD — the Berkeley Initiative for Leadership on Diversity — during the 2007-08 fiscal year represent the best diversity-promoting thinking of staff and administrators all across campus.
(24 October)

Draft report on People’s Park study is open for comment
Public comments are being sought on a draft report on the current state and future of People’s Park, the result of a nine-month assessment of the UC-owned and long-controversial site.
(24 October)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(24 October)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(17 October)

Dedication of C.V. Starr East Asian Library on Oct. 20
Scholars and donors from around the world will gather at the University of California, Berkeley, on Saturday, Oct. 20, for private ceremonies to dedicate the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, the first freestanding library in the United States constructed exclusively for an East Asian collection and one of the few such facilities in the world.
(16 October)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(10 October)

$25 million gift to add new faculty at Haas School
At least five new faculty positions will be crated at the Haas School of Business with a $25 million gift from alumnus Gerson Bakar, a prominent San Francisco real estate developer. Announcement of the gift, the largest individual donation in Haas School history, was made today (Wednesday, Oct. 10) by the school's dean, Tom Campbell.
(10 October)

A town hall meeting with UC's president
The ‘power of 10’ keeps the University resilient in the face of ‘dark forces,’ Dynes tells faculty
(05 October)

Bears' football fortunes prompt a trip down memory lane
Cal's ascent to #3 in the national football polls isn't unprecedented, but it is a long time coming back. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear — 1952, to be exact — when Bums were bums, politics was beanbag, and Bears were (briefly) near the top of the heap.
(03 October)

Subatomic particles and giant magnets
Like Stanley Hall itself, Berkeley's new NMR facility is already helping to shorten the distance between disciplines in the quantitative sciences.
(03 October)

A building with its own fan club
The Berkeleyan wandered through Stanley Hall one day last week, asking everyone we met how working in the new building was likely to make a difference in their work. Not a few said it already had...
(03 October)

Kevin Consey to step down as BAM/PFA director
Kevin Consey, who has led the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) since 1999, announced his retirement on Sept. 21, effective Jan. 2, 2008.
(03 October)

Judge rules that Memorial Stadium oak grove protest is illegal
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller today issued a preliminary injunction, ruling that the protesters living in the oak trees west of UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium on the site of the proposed Student-Athlete High Performance Center must come down.
(01 October)

Three-year plan for professional-school fees fixed
The UC regents last week endorsed a three-year (2008-09 through 2010-11) plan of fees for students in professional-degree programs and approved professional-school fee increases for the 2008-09 academic year.
(26 September)

For service above and beyond . . .
Since Human Resources introduced the Spot Award Program last year, 836 employees have received $250 (less taxes) for special accomplishments, on the strength of nominations submitted by their supervisors.
(26 September)

Stanley Hall dedication heralds new era of bioscience innovation
When Stanley Hall is officially dedicated on Friday, Sept. 28, it will represent the promise of a new era in interdisciplinary bioscience research at UC Berkeley. The state-of-the-art facility will be a catalyst for innovations that may one day lead to new treatments or preventions for diseases, more environmentally friendly sources of energy and better ways to clean up pollutants.
(26 September)

Salary-increase pool for 2007-08 determined
The Berkeley campus will be implementing a salary-increase program for employees in positions covered by the Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM). The fund pool for merit increases is 4 percent, effective Oct. 1, 2007.
(26 September)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(26 September)

Midanik appointed dean of School of Social Welfare
Professor Lorraine Midanik, an expert in alcohol issues, has been named dean of UC Berkeley's School of Social Welfare. Midanik, whose teaching and scholarly work focus on drug- and alcohol-related problems in the United States, had served as acting dean since July 2006.
(19 September)

A half-century of China scholarship at Berkeley
Born at the height of the Cold War, the Center for Chinese Studies remembers the days of Mao and Sputnik — and sees big things ahead.
(19 September)

Put down that iPod and listen up!
In the wake of several recent robberies on and near the campus, UC police urge late-night scholars to keep their eyes and ears open, and to take advantage of shuttle and escort services.
(19 September)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(19 September)

Donors, chairs and Cal: Launching lasting friendships
Larry and Diane Bock, who last year endowed the Larry and Diane Bock Endowed Chair in Nanotechnology, exemplify how endowing a chair "is much more than making a monetary gift," says Scott Biddy, vice chancellor for University Relations. “Donors often form lasting, meaningful relationships with the campus and our faculty."
(13 September)

New economic, social benefits report highlights campus impacts
A new economic impact and social benefits report documents the University of California, Berkeley's contributions to the economy and quality of life for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and highlights the wide-ranging, local to global impacts of campus research.
(13 September)

Sustainability 101
Berkeley's reputation rests on the twin pillars of access and excellence. Its future depends on a paradigm shift in the way it balances public and private funding.
(12 September)

Birgeneau: ‘A quantitative and qualitative change for us’
In this fall’s Berkeleyan interview, the chancellor speaks about the great promise of the Hewlett matching gift, touching on other campus priorities as the academic year gets under way.
(12 September)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(12 September)

Uptick in late-night robberies highlights need for students to be alert, campus police warn
A spate of armed robberies around the UC Berkeley campus, including one Monday night (Sept. 10) in which a victim was struck by BBs, should be a warning to students to walk at night only in well-lit areas and in groups, according to UC police.
(11 September)

Hewlett Foundation gift of $113 million is largest private gift in campus history
UC Berkeley today received the largest private gift in its history, $113 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This gift represents a turning point in the financing of public higher education, providing endowment support that will help to close the funding gap between the nation's preeminent public university and its elite private peers, according to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau.
(10 September)

Professor known for his inspirational teaching has died
orman Jacobson, a University of California, Berkeley, political science professor whose outstanding skills as a teacher drew national recognition and inspired many students to delve into political theory and political action, died on Tuesday (Sept. 4). He was 84.
(05 September)

Lunch Poems kickoff features faculty and staff
The campus’s popular Lunch Poems series launches its 12th season on Thursday, Sept. 6, with a multiple-reader lineup of faculty and staff. After that, the series settles into its usual monthly focus on single poets.
(05 September)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(05 September)

UC Berkeley's settlement offer on Memorial Stadium project
UC Berkeley submitted a settlement offer to the City of Berkeley Tuesday regarding the city's lawsuit challenging the campus's planned construction of a Student-Athlete High Performance Center just west of California Memorial Stadium.
(04 September)

UC Berkeley says public safety comes first; police cite nearly 100 arrests at site of tree protest since December
The university's obligation to protect public safety outside California Memorial Stadium was at the heart of the case made by UC Berkeley on Thursday to an Alameda County Superior Court judge. Citing more than 155 violations and 98 arrests or citations of protesters outside the stadium since December, 2006, UC Police Chief Victoria Harrison outlined in detail the need for erecting a temporary fence at the site in advance of Saturday's season-opening football game.
(30 August)

Governor signs 2007-08 state budget
On Aug. 24, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a 2007-08 state budget that includes funding for student enrollments, faculty and staff compensation, academic-preparation programs, and key research initiatives at the University of California.
(29 August)

As the Bears head onto the field . . .
As the Cal football team prepares to meet Tennessee this Saturday at Memorial Stadium, the campus is readying for a court date over the planned Student-Athlete High Performance Center, the first phase in a multi-year southeast-campus plan that includes seismic retrofitting of the 84-year-old stadium. But while the Bears are eager to avenge last year’s opening-day loss to the Volunteers, a legal battle is something campus leaders would prefer to avoid.
(29 August)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(29 August)

Campus provides updates on Memorial Stadium Project and Student-Athlete High Performance Center
With the football season about to begin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer and Vice Chancellor-Administration Nathan Brostrom provide updates on developments surrounding the Memorial Stadium project and the new Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
(29 August)

New interdisciplinary 'Global Poverty & Practice' minor is launched
UC Berkeley's Blum Center for Developing Economies has announced the creation of a new undergraduate program that, beginning this fall, will seek to motivate and prepare students to become active in alleviating poverty worldwide. The "Global Poverty & Practice" minor will be housed in the International and Area Studies Teaching Program.
(27 August)

Meeting with the media
At his annual press conference, Chancellor Birgeneau briefs reporters on the biggest campus stories of the year ahead.
(23 August)

Fall 2007 semester kicks off
More than 34,500 students are expected to enroll for UC Berkeley's fall 2007 semester. Among other developments, the campus will see new faces in several top leadership positions and the unveiling of new facilities, including Stanley Hall, a state-of-the-art home for bioengineering and nanotechnology.
(23 August)

Letter to the Editor

(22 August)

Chancellor’s Fund lends a helping hand — or hundreds of them — to campus neighbors
Seeking to bolster the efforts of local, community-based organizations to improve the quality of life for Berkeley residents, the Berkeley campus has awarded grants totaling $207,500 to a baker’s dozen projects ranging from mentoring and mental-health services to habitat restoration and landscape rehabilitation.
(22 August)

Grad students pitch in to make NRC rankings reflect their experience
Participation of Berkeley’s doctoral candidates in the National Research Council's survey of their graduate experience has been exemplary, according to Graduate Dean Andrew Szeri and the team facilitating the campus response.
(22 August)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(22 August)

Chancellor leads effort to back federal math education bill
University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, who has led an effort by leaders of some of the nation's premiere colleges and universities to back a federal bill that would strengthen K-12 math and science education, applauded today the recent passage of the bill and expressed his optimism that it will be signed into law.
(03 August)

Ichthyologist, animal behaviorist George Barlow has died
Preeminent U.S. ichthyologist George W. Barlow, who studied parenting behavior and aggression in fish and was a well-known expert on cichlid fishes, died July 14 at the age of 78.
(30 July)

A big stink to come at UC Botanical Garden
When UC Botanical Garden's rare corpse flower blooms this week, the flower will both attract and repel visitors with its large and visually arresting but odiferously revolting blossom.
(30 July)

UC Berkeley geography professor wounded in Nigeria
Geography professor Michael Watts, who studies violence in the oil fields of Nigeria, was injured July 25 in the center of the country's oil-rich Niger delta by a group of gun-wielding men who attacked a newspaper office.
(25 July)

Eminent biochemist Daniel Koshland has died
Daniel E. Koshland Jr., an eminent biochemist and energetic guardian of UC Berkeley's research preeminence, died on July 23 following a massive stroke. A former editor of the journal Science, Koshland was 87.
(24 July)

Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund awards announced today
The Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund awards for 2007-08 are being given to 13 projects that demonstrate how local, community-based organizations and UC Berkeley are working together to improve the quality of life for Berkeley residents. Chancellor Birgeneau established this annual grant program in 2006.
(24 July)

Gibor Basri selected new vice chancellor for equity and inclusion
Gibor Basri, a highly esteemed University of California, Berkeley, astrophysics professor with an extensive background working on diversity and outreach issues, has been selected as the campus's new vice chancellor for equity and inclusion.
(19 July)

A profile of Gibor Basri
UC Berkeley's new vice chancellor for equity and inclusion plans to take a "holistic view" of the campus — its faculty, students, and staff — to help ensure that it's serving and tapping the talents of California's diverse populations.
(19 July)

UC Berkeley, 'the people's university,' featured on Chinese TV
People throughout mainland China got a glimpse of the Berkeley campus — and its public mission — in an interview with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau broadcast recently on a popular prime-time talk show.
(11 July)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(11 July)

Ken Goldberg named new director of Center for New Media
Ken Goldberg, a UC Berkeley professor of engineering and an artist, has been named the new director of the UC Berkeley Center for New Media, effective July 1. The center, established in 2004, is dedicated to exploring the impacts of digital media on people and society.
(28 June)

Wellesley administrator, a Berkeley alumnus, to lead campus fundraising operations
David Blinder, vice president for resources and public affairs at Wellesley College, has been named the new chief development officer for UC Berkeley. Blinder, who holds master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from Berkeley, will return to his alma mater as associate vice chancellor for University Relations, starting Aug. 13.
(27 June)

The state of the campus is good, says chancellor
In a wide-ranging give-and-take session with campus staff on June 23, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau fielded queries on pay, pensions, health care, diversity, the environment, and more.
(26 June)

YouTube clip features Berkeley's musical serenade to Stephen Hawking
In March, world-renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking came to the Berkeley campus for a series of events and was serenaded in a musical tribute shown in this YouTube clip.
(22 June)

Student-athlete facility to get its day in court Sept. 19
The judge presiding over legal challenges to Berkeley's planned Student-Athlete High Performance Center — the first phase in a multi-year southeast-campus plan that includes seismic retrofitting of Memorial Stadium — has set trial for Sept. 19, responding to the university's growing sense of urgency and giving Cal fans hope that the project schedule can get back on track.
(21 June)

LifeCycle Journal: Seven Cal Team cyclists and a roadie reflect on the ride's highs, lows, and enduring memories
After riding into L.A. on AIDS LifeCycle's Day 7, eight Cal Team members reflect on the meaning of the ride.
(12 June)

Chemist Gabor Somorjai to receive Priestley Medal
The American Chemical Society will bestow its highest honor, the Priestley Medal, on Gabor A. Somorjai, University Professor and professor of chemistry at the UC Berkeley, for his "extraordinarily creative and original contributions to surface science and catalysis."
(12 June)

LifeCycle Journal: Climbing that last hill, with miles yet to go
Cal Team member and chef Chuck Davies reflects on how all the aches and pains of a week in the saddle are overcome by the outpouring of support from the community, and by the chance to celebrate life and those who live fully in the face of AIDS.
(09 June)

LifeCycle Journal: Two perspectives on ride's Dress Red Day
A Cal grad student and an adjunct lecturer describe a low-mileage day marked by campiness and fun.
(08 June)

LifeCycle Journal: Catching the spirit of the event
UC Berkeley staffer Devin Wicks reports from Santa Maria on early-morning preparations for ride-out on Day 4, taking riders up the infamous Evil Twins and across the half-way mark to L.A.
(07 June)

LifeCycle journal: Missing out on 72.3 miles of fun
Incoming freshman Claire Veening describes the disappointments of Day 3 (King City to Paso Robles) on her first AIDS LifeCycle ride.
(06 June)

Career Compass website is launched; HR rolling out new staff job structure
Human Resources has launched a new website, careercompass.berkeley.edu, to publish information about Career Compass, a set of three linked initiatives focusing on creating new job standards, improving performance management, and providing greater career development opportunities for staff.
(06 June)

Punching a clock into the golden years
The UC Berkeley Retirement Center's Retiree Work Opportunities (RWO) program — an innovative solution to address the campus's short-term, temporary staffing needs — was among 10 nonprofit and public-sector organizations honored last week with a BreakThrough Award at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
(06 June)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(06 June)

LifeCycle Journal: Part endurance event, part circus, part therapy
Cal grad Ben Spoer reports on the challenges of sleeping in a tent city of 2,300, the circus atmosphere that help riders persist after the mileage count tops 75, and the shared sense of loss on AIDS LifeCycle 6.
(05 June)

Riding to stop AIDS
Cal senior Hailey Gilmore reports from the road following Day 1 of the week-long AIDS LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
(04 June)

Seismic study clears site of future athlete training center
A follow-up geologic study of the planned building site for a new student-athlete training center has confirmed earlier conclusions that there is no active earthquake fault running through it. This removes one barrier to construction of the center, though pending lawsuits challenge other aspects of the project.
(31 May)

J-school announces competition for three investigative reporting fellowships
To help develop a new generation of investigative reporters in an era of cutbacks at major news organizations, UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism has established three post-graduate fellowships in investigative reporting.
(23 May)

Three new top campus administrators named
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau today announced the appointment of Andrew J. Szeri as dean of the Graduate Division, Sheldon Zedeck as vice provost for academic affairs and faculty welfare, and Keith Gilless as acting dean of the College of Natural Resources.
(16 May)

Round-the-clock studies: The library as first resort
Writing in the newsletter fiat lux, University Librarian Thomas Leonard takes a look at final exams from the library perspective: students in every corner, tents pitched in the stacks, and a round-the-clock "study resort."
(14 May)

In praise of 'dynamo' dean Mary Ann Mason
A crowd of well-wishers gathered Thursday afternoon at International House to toast Mary Ann Mason, who will step down as dean of the Graduate Division in June. Speakers cited Mason’s many important accomplishments as dean — from hard-won policy changes to help make academia more "family friendly" to new graduate-student housing and more robust fellowship support.
(14 May)

Former U.S. Ambassador to head International House
Martin G. Brennan, a diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Uganda and Zambia, has been named the new executive director of International House, a multicultural residence and program center at the UC Berkeley. Brennan succeeds Joe Lurie, who will step down at the end of June as executive director of the unique, 75-year-old center after two decades of service.
(11 May)

New campus-city program helps students discard unwanted items
Students about to move out of their housing units for the summer no longer have an excuse for dumping unwanted items, including furniture, on the sidewalks as thet leave town. A new program being launched by UC Berkeley and the city of Berkeley provides students with giant outdoor refuse bins, garbage truck sweeps and a drop-off recycling center on campus.
(08 May)

Leon Litwack's last stand
The renowned historian Leon Litwack gave the final lecture of his 34-year teaching career at Berkeley to an energetic crowd of well-wishers on May 7.
(08 May)

Faculty's NRC input is ready for grading
An update of the massive and influential report, "Research Doctoral Programs in the United States," is scheduled to be released by the National Research Council in December 2007.
(02 May)

Greenhouse-gas emissions: How low can we go?
Last week Chancellor Birgeneau announced that that the Berkeley campus has committed to reducing its greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2014 — six years earlier than the target set by California Assembly Bill 32, the Global Solutions Warming Act. The chancellor made the announcement at the campus's fourth annual Sustainability Summit to an enthusiastic audience that packed the Wells Fargo Room in the Haas School of Business.
(02 May)

Benefiting faculty into the future
Vice Provost Jan de Vries, who steps down June 30, set the bar for programs to support faculty.
(02 May)

Self-study affirms Cal's commitment to NCAA's principles
The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has certified a comprehensive self-study of Intercollegiate Athletics at Berkeley, confirming that the athletic department is operating in full compliance with NCAA operating principles.
(02 May)

Top graduating senior is "quintessential Berkeley"
Most days, Adrian Down can be found pushing a wheelbarrow around the UC Berkeley student organic garden. Resembling a tropical frog or vulgar tourist, he’s often garbed in orange T-shirt, blue plaid shorts and blue and pink sneakers. But goofy thrift store outfits belie Down’s wisdom and humility. His 3.9 GPA, intense scientific curiosity and altruism have landed him UC Berkeley’s highest honor for a graduating senior. As the winner of the 2007 University Medal, Down will speak at Commencement Convocation at the campus's Greek Theatre on May 9.
(02 May)

Relax – the siren wail you'll hear on Wednesday is just a test
Campus emergency sirens will sound at noon on Wednesday, May 2, as part of the regular monthly testing of UC Berkeley's comprehensive Alerting and Warning System. In addition to familiarizing the Berkeley community with campus emergency procedures, the test will allow students, staff and faculty to test out the new People Locator system.
(01 May)

Engineer receives NSF grant to study MacArthur Maze freeway collapse
Abolhassan Astaneh, a UC Berkeley civil engineering professor, has received funding from the National Science Foundation to investigate the collapse of the MacArthur Maze freeway ramps after last Sunday's fiery tanker truck crash. He has formed a team to collect evidence from the site, including samples of the steel support beams and photographs of the collapsed roadways.
(01 May)

Academy of Arts & Sciences elects 7 Berkeley faculty
Seven UC Berkeley faculty members will join the likes of former Vice President Al Gore, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and chef Alice Waters as new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
(30 April)

Jimmy Carter to speak on campus this Wednesday
Former President Jimmy Carter will discuss his hopes for Israeli-Palestinian peace and his new book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," in a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, 4:30 p.m. this Wednesday (May 2).
(30 April)

Popular professor and esteemed historian to deliver last lecture
Leon Litwack, a national expert on African American history and an extremely popular UC Berkeley history professor, will deliver his last classroom lecture onMonday, May 7. Litwack, 77, is retiring from the University of California, Berkeley at the end of this semester.
(30 April)

Everyone's got an opinion …
But not everyone — even in today's freewheeling media environment — can get people to listen. That's where academics with Berkeley-bred expertise enjoy an advantage.
(25 April)

Clover, Kay honored with 2007 Faculty Service Awards
Two Berkeley faculty members — Professors Carol Clover and Herma Hill Kay — have been selected as winners of the 2007 Berkeley Faculty Service Award (BFSA).
(25 April)

Leaving no Pop-Tart unscrutinized
A cohort of 26 Berkeley faculty members, students, and service-unit representatives, called the Campus Nutrition and Physical Activity Work Group, is working to make healthier food options more available on campus.
(25 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(25 April)

Reduced steam for heat and hot water May 4-6
Physical Plant–Campus Services plans to shut down and repair a 10-inch steam line, one of two steam mains under Campanile Way that serve much of the campus, during the weekend of May 4-6. The work may result in reduced heat and hot water for buildings on the east side of campus during the repair period.
(24 April)

Distinguished Teaching awards announced
Three professors in the humanities and one in science have won UC Berkeley’s prestigious 2007 Distinguished Teaching Award. A ceremony honoring Andrew Garrett, associate professor of linguistics; Steven Goldsmith, associate professor of English; Eileen Lacey, associative professor of integrative biology and Kathleen McCarthy, associate professor of classics and comparative literature, will be held tomorrow (Wednesday, April 25) at 5 p.m. at the campus’s Zellerbach Playhouse.
(24 April)

Opting for advisory role, Academic Senate resolves to back EBI
At a special meeting called to resolve questions of "scholarly integrity" and transparency hovering over the campus's nascent Energy Biosciences Institute, Berkeley faculty on Thursday gave their tacit blessing to the administration's contract negotiations with corporate partner BP, subject to input on the agreement and its ongoing implementation by a faculty committee.
(19 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(18 April)

Sympathy banner for Virginia Tech
TV and print reporters and photographers are welcome to document the signing today (Wednesday, April 18) of a large banner being filled with student condolences for a Virginia Tech residence hall where two students were killed in Monday's shooting spree. The UC Berkeley effort for West Ambler Johnston Hall was the idea of Bradley Kane, a resident advisor at Unit 2, a housing complex that includes Wada, Ehrman and Cunningham halls.
(18 April)

Energy Biosciences Institute timeline
Dates and details on the process leading to creation of the Energy Biosciences Institute.
(12 April)

Energy Biosciences Institute Q&A
Answers to frequently asked questions about the partnership with BP to create the Energy Biosciences Institute
(12 April)

EBI: Taking a closer look
In a package of articles, the Berkeleyan offers details on the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), including answers to often-asked questions, an overview of the social-science component of the research effort, a primer on intellectual- property issues, and an update on Academic Senate involvement
(12 April)

Profs reap Chancellor's Awards for diversity-related contributions
Four faculty members were the guests of honor April 4 at a University House ceremony celebrating recipients of the 2007 Chancellor's Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence.
(12 April)

Cal Dining wins the Oscar of eateries
Chez Panisse, French Laundry, Spago, Charlie Trotters … and Cal Dining? That's right. Berkeley's campus dining service recently earned its place among these much-lauded establishments when it snagged (as the others have in the past) a prestigious Ivy Award.
(12 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(12 April)

What is EBI?
Information about the background and objectives of the Energy Biosciences Institute.
(12 April)

Shifting to a biofueled world
Much of the buzz over the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) has centered on the promise of new, cleaner fuels from renewable resources. Equally important will be research by EBI partners into the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the move toward biofuels.
(12 April)

An intellectual-property primer
Carol Mimura, of the campus's Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances, helps explain the role of IP in transferring technology to benefit society.
(12 April)

Senate wrestles with industrial alliances
On April 19, the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate will hold a special meeting to discuss competing views related to the industry-sponsored research contract to establish the Energy Biosciences Institute.
(12 April)

Cal Day to pulsate with extra energy
Blue and gold will equal green on Cal Day, Saturday, April 21, as UC Berkeley's annual open house spotlights research into green sustainable energy.
(11 April)

UC Berkeley's 'Tree of Wisdom' featured in Vanity Fair
UC Berkeley's Nobel Prize winners and Chancellor Robert Birgeneau are featured as part of Vanity Fair magazine's "Green Issue," hitting national newsstands today.
(10 April)

Fall 2007 freshman admissions data released
More than 10,000 high school students have received the happy news that they may attend the University of California, Berkeley as freshmen next fall, an increase from last year of approximately 370 offers of admission, according to data released by campus admissions officials today (Thursday, April 5).
(05 April)

A match to spark student support
A new program initiated by Chancellor Birgeneau this week will match gifts and pledges, dollar for dollar, from active or emeriti faculty, staff, and students to Berkeley's endowment for need-based scholarships or fellowships.
(04 April)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(04 April)

Richard Meier, emeritus professor and "super planner" dies at 86
Richard Louis Meier, an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and an early thinker on the importance of sustainability in planning, died on Feb. 26 of pneumonia and congestive heart failure at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley.
(04 April)

Institute of Industrial Relations gets new name
­The Institute of Industrial Relations at the University of California, Berkeley, has a new name: the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE).
(04 April)

Gill Tract fire is under investigation
A fire early Monday morning destroyed a building on UC Berkeley's Gill Tract, next to the University Village student-family housing complex in Albany. No one was injured in the blaze.
(02 April)

Nelson Polsby campus memorial on Thursday
A memorial service will be held at the University of California, Berkeley, this Thursday (April 5) to honor Nelson W. Polsby, one of the world's leading experts on American politics and the U.S. Congress. He died in February at age 72.
(02 April)

AIDS LifeCycle Cal team faces down misfortune
Cal junior Hailey Gilmore is in training for the San Francisco-to-L.A. AIDS LifeCyle this June. When she encountered a string of misfortunes, adjunct professor of education
(29 March)

Campus animal facilities earn gold star
Calling the University of California, Berkeley's animal care and use program "exemplary," the international organization that inspects and accredits facilities that use animals in research has given the campus another gold star.
(29 March)

Center for Studies in Higher Education marks its half-century milestone
Established 50 years ago to look at higher-ed policy issues, it thrives today as an interdisciplinary center where 'the future is always arriving.'
(21 March)

'If we all develop our employees, we all benefit,' says HR's top manager
Looking at Berkeley's current job structure as well as its future needs, assistant vice chancellor of human resources Jeannine Raymond sees opportunities for employees to grow and advance.
(21 March)

Mark your calendars for Cal Day 2007
The Berkeley campus's popular spring open house takes place Saturday, April 21.
(21 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(21 March)

Fiat Lunch
Berkeley staff and faculty, we've long known, are a well-read bunch. Turns out they're well-fed, too.
(14 March)

Moving forward on equity and inclusion
As the search for a new vice chancellor progresses, diversity-related efforts on campus continue on multiple fronts.
(14 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(14 March)

Daylight Savings Time gotchas may get you
Got a hot meeting Monday morning? You may need to double-check your watch, your calendar, and your key ring, as a change in the time of the Daylight Savings Time causes unintended side effects across campus.
(09 March)

Campus will grant paid maternity leave to women doctoral students
As one of only a handful of universities across the country to offer paid pregnancy leave for doctoral students, Berkeley is 'on the cutting edge' of family-friendly benefits.
(07 March)

Nobel Prize medal stolen from Lawrence Hall of Science is found, student arrested
The Nobel Prize medal belonging to Ernest O. Lawrence that was stolen last week from the Lawrence Hall of Science has been recovered, and a UC Berkeley student has been arrested and booked on suspicion of felony grand theft, according to UC police.
(07 March)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(07 March)

E.O. Lawrence's Nobel medal goes missing from LHS
The Nobel medal belonging to the late Ernest O. Lawrence, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize is Physics, is missing from its display case at the Lawrence Hall of Science, according to campus police. LHS is offering a $2,500 reward for its safe return.
(05 March)

In the event of an actual disaster…
… a new virtual bulletin board will help the campus take roll and let community members send messages to co-workers, friends, and loved ones.
(28 February)

Heart-starting news from UCPD
Campus police are now armed with a new weapon aimed at maintaining the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students: the portable defibrillator kit.
(28 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(28 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(21 February)

UC Berkeley expert, campus officials refute protesters' latest charges
In response to claims made to the media Feb. 20 by protesters camped at the grove outside California Memorial Stadium and by their attorney stating that the grove could be the site of a Native American burial ground, Kent Lightfoot, curator of North American archaeology at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and campus officials issued statements challenging the protesters' charges.
(20 February)

Battling today's crime problems, discussed at AAAS this morning by UCB law professor
A UC Berkeley law professor will discuss his new research on the nation's 1990s crime decline, the longest and deepest drop in crime since World War II, during a presentation in San Francisco, Friday, Feb. 16, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Professor Franklin Zimring, of UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), contends that the decline provides important, instructive lessons for policy makers and law enforcement officials grappling with today's toughest violent crime problems.
(16 February)

Three faculty elected to National Academy of Engineering
Three UC Berkeley faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions for an American engineer. This brings to 85 the total number of UC Berkeley faculty members in the society.
(14 February)

News Briefs
Shorter items of interest to the campus community.
(14 February)

Collegiate Licensing Co. to manage Cal brand
The campus has reached agreement wih the Collegiate Licensing Co. to manage UC Berkeley's trademark licensing program. UC Berkeley had been one of the few universities in the country to independently manage its own trademark licensing program.
(09 February)

Berkeley, LBNL, Illinois join forces with BP
The stars came out to celebrate what campus, LBNL, and government officials call the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the University of Illinois and energy giant BP -- in the form of a 10-year, $500 million strategic partnership to develop new, carbon-neutral biofuel technologies at Berkeley. "We are not waiting for a clean energy revolution," declared Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We are the leaders in that revolution."
(08 February)

Nelson Polsby, leading expert in American politics, dies at age 72
Nelson W. Polsby, one of the world's leading experts on American politics and the U.S. Congress, died Tuesday (Feb. 6) at his home in Berkeley. He was 72. His death was caused by complications associated with heart disease.
(08 February)

'. . . fatiguing and inspiring all at the same time . . .'
Work on the BP proposal was f