Review of Wheeler Hall protest to be undertaken
Campus leaders have announced that a review is underway of the crowd control measures used by police on November 20, when 40 protesters occupied Wheeler Hall.
(23 November)

Chancellor's message to community: Wheeler Hall protest ended peacefully
In a message to the campus community on the peaceful conclusion of the Wheeler Hall occupation, Chancellor Birgeneau calls for unity in advancing the cause of public higher education.
(20 November)

Art museum project alternate plan due early next year
UC Berkeley’s plans for a new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) are being modified due to lingering economic uncertainty, museum and university officials announced today (Wednesday, Nov. 18).
(18 November)

Changes are needed to keep post-employment benefits in the safe zone, a UC task force tells campus staff and retirees
The Presidential Task Force on Post-Employment Benefits brings mixed news to intensely interested current and retired campus staff.
(16 November)

Hunger gets a seat at Berkeley's table
To bring home the issue of world hunger, the dining commons in Berkeley's Unit 3 residence hall held a most unusual dinner Thursday night: Just rice and water on the floor for most attending. It was all part of Hunger Awareness Week at Cal.
(13 November)

UHS releases new update on H1N1 flu vaccine
University Health Services sent a CALmessage on Nov. 6 to keep the campus apprised about the status of its H1N1 flu vaccine supply.
(09 November)

At town hall on campus response to budget crisis, students raise concerns and questions
More than 300 students turned out Thursday evening for a town hall meeting with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and other senior administrators. Their common concern: the state budget emergency and the campus's response to draconian budget cuts that the crisis has brought.
(06 November)

BAM/PFA's kicks off edgy Friday night series

(06 November)

By a 91-68 vote, Academic Senate tells Cal Athletics to pay its own way — starting now
Following a vote of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate recommending that Intercollegiate Athletics become financially self-sufficient, Chancellor Birgeneau said he would explore the best way to move forward on the issue.
(06 November)

Scholar of native textiles to head anthropology museum
Anthropologist Mari Lyn Salvador, a scholar of Panama’s native Kuna people and the textiles that they create and an experienced museum professional, has been named director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the UC Berkeley. Salvador is scheduled to take the new post in late November.
(05 November)

Graduate Council mines its past to make venerable lectures available online

(05 November)

Linda Finch Hicks, longtime campus staffer, has died
Linda Finch Hicks, administrative manager in the history department, died Sunday, Nov. 1 at Alta Bates Hospital of pancreatic cancer. She was 55.
(04 November)

Staff forum on future of UC post-employment benefits set for Nov. 10
The University of California President's Task Force on Post-Employment Benefits will hold a forum on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Sibley Auditorium in Bechtel Engineering Center, for staff to ask questions and weigh in on the future of the university's pension and retiree health programs.
(02 November)

Berkeley scholars' adventures in the blogosphere
A growing number of campus scholars are using Web 2.0 blogging tools to reach a larger audience, create intellectual community, and be more proactive in relation to the media.
(28 October)

Fall Academic Senate meeting to focus on Intercollegiate Athletics
The Berkeley division of the Academic Senate will focus next week on the contributions and costs of the campus's Intercollegiate Athletics program. The Senate's fall meeting will host a fact-based discussion, debate, and exchange among faculty, Athletics Director Sandy Barbour, and Nathan Brostrom, vice chancellor for Administration.
(28 October)

UC Berkeley amplifies national voice via The Berkeley Blog
UC Berkeley’s best and brightest are often asked to share their insights at the White House, on Wall Street and with the media worldwide. Now, they are furthering that conversation in a new format – The Berkeley Blog.
(26 October)

Goldman School to have greater impact, thanks to $5 million gift
Over the years, the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley has emerged as a leader in proposing solutions to major issues facing society, and now a new $5 million gift from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund will make it possible for the school to make a greater impact in the world.
(23 October)

UC benefits Open Enrollment begins soon
Open enrollment for UC's health-and-welfare benefits runs from Thursday, Oct. 29, through Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 5 p.m.
(20 October)

It’s My Job: Karen Hughes helps put the brakes on college drinking
As coordinator of University Health Services’ PartySafe@Cal program, Karen Hughes works to curb students' use of booze by focusing on the factors that inform their drinking choices, rather than lecturing them about the dangers of alcohol.
(20 October)

Gifts from parents restore full library hours
Thanks to gifts from Berkeley parents, library hours across campus will return to normal, and weekend reductions forced by state funding cuts will end over the next month.
(14 October)

At Hearst Museum beer fair, brewing fanatics sample suds and ponder their ancient peers
The Hearst Museum's Beer Symposium and Fair was the third in a series of annual events on the anthropology of food.
(14 October)

A moving story
For more than 20 years, the Marchant Building on San Pablo Avenue has been a de facto warehouse for UC Berkeley. With the building's recent sale, however, the day of reckoning has come. All the stuff must go … somewhere.
(13 October)

UC Berkeley's Oliver Williamson shares Nobel Prize in economics
Williamson, the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business Economics, and Law at UC Berkeley, a pioneer of the multi-disciplinary field of transaction cost economics, and one of the world's most cited economists, is a winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics.
(12 October)

That's -30- for us
Berkeleyan bids adieu to print
(05 October)

News Briefs

(05 October)

Laurels
UC Berkeley researchers Ashok Gadgil amd Kirk Smith win Heinz Family Foundation awards for their environmental achievements; Professor Emeritus Christopher Alexander wins the Vince Scully Prize; Professor Ruzena Bajcsy is this years winner of the Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award; Human Rights Center director Eric Stover named for Open Society Institute fellowship.
(05 October)

Laurels
UC Berkeley researchers Ashok Gadgil amd Kirk Smith win Heinz Family Foundation awards for their environmental achievements; Professor Emeritus Christopher Alexander wins the Vince Scully Prize; Professor Ruzena Bajcsy is this years winner of the Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award; Human Rights Center director Eric Stover named for Open Society Institute fellowship.
(05 October)

What's new at the Library?
A guide to this semester’s exhibits and events – as well as a plethora of new online resources – from campus libraries.
(02 October)

Campus bids Lustig farewell
Retiring from Berkeley after 26 years, the associate vice chancellor for health and human services looks back on a career rich in service to campus and community
(02 October)

More than two dozen junior faculty receive Hellman Family awards
Twenty-six junior faculty receive grants of up to $50,000 to pursue work of exceptional promise.
(02 October)

More than two dozen junior faculty receive Hellman Family awards
Twenty-six junior faculty receive grants of up to $50,000 to pursue work of exceptional promise.
(02 October)

A ‘public option’ for scholarship
A new push to ease access to university research, in the form of a five-institution compact to finance open-access publishing, is supported by Berkeley as part of its ongoing commitment to this innovative scholarly-publishing model.
(02 October)

A ‘public option’ for scholarship
A new push to ease access to university research, in the form of a five-institution compact to finance open-access publishing, is supported by Berkeley as part of its ongoing commitment to this innovative scholarly-publishing model.
(02 October)

The concerned employee's guide to face time at California Hall
The Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee seeks new members to provide staff perspectives to top administrators.
(02 October)

Picture Yourself at Berkeley reaches out to connect with prospective students
A new online service offered by the campus's Office of Undergraduate Admissions helps prospective students envision themselves as a member of the UC Berkeley community.
(28 September)

Mass rally on Sproul denounces deep budget cuts
Thousands of students, staff, and faculty rallied on Sproul Plaza Thursday to protest more than $800 million in state funding cuts to the UC system and, in some cases, the system's response to those cuts.
(24 September)

Research restructuring leads to net reduction in jobs
Responding to the dire budget circumstances facing the Berkeley campus, Vice Chancellor for Research Graham Fleming on Monday announced a major restructuring of services and resources within his office, eliminating a number of administrative positions in research units while creating a smaller number of new jobs in a centralized business support unit.
(14 September)

Well Said
Quotes, bon mots, and noteworthy utterances from the campus and beyond.
(10 September)

News Briefs
Items of interest from across the campus.
(10 September)

Trusting Google with UC's books prompts searching questions
A recent campus conference focused on the proposed settlement of a lawsuit over Google's effort to digitize millions of books - academic and otherwise – and make them available online.
(10 September)

Research Roundup
This semester's On the Same Page program, aimed at focusing the attention of incoming L&S undergrads on a single work or creator, is built around Professor of Journalism Michael Pollan's game-changing take on industrial agriculture and America's food systems, The Omnivore's Dilemma.
(10 September)

New faces on Dwinelle Plaza
Portraits of students who are benefiting from privately funded scholarships and fellowships smile out at passersby, as the now-familiar "Thanks to Berkeley…" billboard gets a one-year facelift.
(10 September)

Fellowship lands recent grad in a real hotspot
Recent grad Sasha Pippenger’s taste for public service was not just satisfied but enhanced by her Gardner-funded experiences working on refugee-relief issues in Pakistan.
(10 September)

A peer in high places
Parking fees for the remainder of 2009-10 have been reduced, saving campus permit holders an average of 8 percent monthly.
(10 September)

It now costs less to park at Berkeley
Parking fees for the remainder of 2009-10 have been reduced, saving campus permit holders an average of 8 percent monthly.
(10 September)

H1N1: Intruder at the gates
Berkeley is preparing for an anticipated surge in flu cases this semester, with an interdepartmental effort aimed at limiting the disease's impact on students and campus operations.
(10 September)

Foreign scholars say 'yes' to American English pronunciation course
In a popular class organized by the Visiting Scholar and Postdoc Affairs program, international scholars at Berkeley hone their ability to hear and create sounds not found in their native languages. The goal is help them prepare for their professional careers and the job market.
(04 September)

Top marks for top values
UC Berkeley has been recognized as the top university in the country for its contributions to society as measured by Washington Monthly's annual college guide and rankings.
(03 September)

Starting today, it costs less to park at Berkeley
Amid this fall's steady rain of bad economic news, UC Berkeley's Parking and Transportation has announced a ray of sunshine for campus commuters: parking fees for the remainder of 2009-10 have been reduced, saving campus permit holders an average of 8 percent monthly
(01 September)

News Briefs
A look back at key events as the current crisis unfolded
(28 August)

The Budget Squeeze
A look back at key events as the current crisis unfolded
(28 August)

Well Said
Quotes, bon mots, and noteworthy utterances from the campus and beyond
(28 August)

It's my job
Steve Seid began his career writing about film and video, and working for small, independent video-arts organizations and film festivals before coming to the Pacific Film Archive 21 years ago.
(28 August)

Neil Henry steers a new course at the J-School
The new dean of the Graduate School of Journalism aims to uphold ethics amid the chaos of information in American society now.
(27 August)

Pictures (and more) from two exhibitions
Celebrate Charles Darwin's 200 birthday amid rare Darwiniana at the Bancroft Library and eight other campus libraries and museums. Learn about City Beautiful’s tenet of bringing civic order through large-scale plans at the College of Environmental Design's Wurster Hall.
(27 August)

As students return to classes, media meet with the chancellor
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau met the press on Wednesday for a public glimpse of the view of campus from California Hall.He described Berkeley's new crop of 9,400 students as "an exciting and excited class," but the main focus of the hourlong session, inevitably, was the campus's bleak budget picture.
(27 August)

Why Berkeley can keep on building during the budget crisis
Long before a shovel hits the ground, a building project must be planned and designed, but the financing — often from multiple sources — must also be in place.
(27 August)

Brostrom to serve interim role at UCOP leading business operations
Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom will serve as interim executive vice president for business operations in the UC Office of the President through Dec. 31, UC President Mark Yudof and Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced.
(27 August)

Bringing you a better Berkeleyan
With this issue you will see a redesigned Berkeleyan, with a new look and some new editorial formats.
(27 August)

Chancellor Birgeneau speaks out on the budget crisis
By all accounts, the UC system is facing the most serious financial crisis in its history. With the campus gearing up for a fall semester unlike any since his arrival in 2004, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau discusses the challenges ahead
(26 August)

Fall classes begin amid budget challenges
Fall classes begin today (Wednesday, Aug. 26) for more than 35,000 students at UC Berkeley. While belt-tightening due to unprecedented state budget cuts will not go unnoticed here, UC Berkeley top officials say the campus is committed to weathering the financial storm and preserving a longstanding commitment to world-class teaching, research and public service.
(26 August)

Honoring our own
The Berkeley campus will gather on Thursday, Sept. 3, for its eighth annual memorial service to honor those of its own who have died during the past year, whose names and affiliations are listed on an online memorial site.
(24 August)

Welcome to UC Berkeley – 141 years and counting
In a back-to-school video message, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau welcomes new and returning Cal students and thanks faculty and staff for their dedication.
(24 August)

Latest U.S. News rankings place Berkeley, again, at the top of the publics
U.S. News & World Report's 2010 guide to "America's Best Colleges," released yesterday, ranked Berkeley 21st among 262 public and private "national universities" offering doctoral degrees.
(21 August)

Campus furlough plan and proposed closure dates
In a message to all UC Berkeley faculty and staff, Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom outlines the campus closure dates and other decisions that have been taken to implement the systemwide furlough and salary reduction program approved in July by the UC Regents.
(20 August)

Hacking incident on J-school Web server triggers notices to affected applicants
UC Berkeley will be notifying approximately 490 applicants to the Graduate School of Journalism of a potential personal data breach following a computer security incident in which a hacker gained access to the journalism school's primary Web server.
(11 August)

Campanile set to reopen, then close again for more repairs this fall
Summer visitors to campus will find the Campanile open once more beginning this Sunday (Aug. 9) at 10 a.m. But they should tour it soon, as the world's third largest bell and clock tower — shut down for repairs since mid-June — needs more fixes than first anticipated.
(07 August)

Tools for coping during tough times
As campus managers grapple with difficult decisions and staff await news about cuts and layoffs, employees can find themselves feeling helpless and unsettled. Here are some resources and suggestions on coping with the situation.
(05 August)

Mark Rosenzweig, pioneer in brain plasticity, learning and hearing, has died at 86
Mark R. Rosenzweig, a professor emeritus of psychology at UC Berkeley whose early studies paved the way for today's recognition of the brain's ability to grow and repair itself, died July 20 at his home in Berkeley from kidney failure. He was 86.
(03 August)

Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund Awards announced
Sixteen partnerships between the University of California, Berkeley, and community groups to improve the quality of life for Berkeley residents will share $232,315 in grants awarded by the UC Berkeley Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund. The fund was established in 2006 through an agreement between the campus and the city.
(29 July)

Campus environmental record earns top score in Princeton Review "Green Ratings"
UC Berkeley makes The Princeton Review's Green Honor Roll in recognition of the campus's environmentally friendly policies. UC Berkeley was one of only 15 colleges in the country to have earned the top score in a rating, announced July 27, by The Princeton Review, a provider of education services to help students get into college.
(27 July)

Lisa Bauer honored as UC's 2009 'sustainability champion'
Lisa Bauer has cast a long shadow as manager of Campus Recycling and Refuse Services at Berkeley for more than a decade. For her early vision — and for rolling up her sleeves for years to make it manifest — Bauer was recently named UC's 2009 Sustainability Champion.
(27 July)

Berkeley will remain great, but will it retain its public character?
In a July 22 blog post on the Atlantic website, correspondent Erik Tarloff decried the impending cuts at UC Berkeley, resulting from California's budget crisis, as a "great tragedy" whose damage is "likely to be irreversible." Chancellor Robert Birgeneau responds.
(24 July)

Mitchell Celaya chosen as new UC Berkeley chief of police
Effective Aug. 1, the campus's new chief of police will be Mitchell J. Celaya III, a member of the UC Berkeley Police Department since 1982. Today's announcement follows a nationwide search to replace Victoria Harrison, who is retiring as police chief.
(21 July)

Focus turns to long-term impacts of state funding cuts as regents approve one-year furlough plan
Union employees were louder, but it was the UC chancellors' dire warnings of severe, long-term institutional damage from ongoing budget cuts that packed the biggest wallop at this week's meeting of the Board of Regents, where the regents approved President Mark Yudof's plan for systemwide furloughs and pay cuts.
(16 July)

History's Carla Hesse is named L&S dean of social sciences
Professor of History Carla Hesse, a prize-winning scholar whose interests center on modern Europe, especially France, takes over Aug. 1 as dean of the social sciences division of the College of Letters and Science. Her appointment was approved July 16 by the UC Board of Regents.
(16 July)

Linguists attending international institute
Hundreds of linguists from around the world are gathering at the University of California, Berkeley, through Aug. 13 to weigh thorny issues such as where grammar comes from, what infants learn before they talk, what DNA says about how related languages spread, and the "linguistically modern man."
(13 July)

Furloughs, pay cuts announced for UC staff and faculty
UC President Mark Yudof revealed the shape of the future for many of the system's 120,000-plus employees Friday morning when he announced his proposal for "a graduated approach" to unpaid furlough days for faculty and staff that would reduce pay on a sliding scale.
(10 July)

UC president proposes plan to address fiscal crisis
University of California President Mark Yudof today released details of a proposed plan to offset an anticipated $813 million reduction in support from the state General Fund. The plan, which includes a graduated furlough and pay reduction for most staff and faculty, will be presented July 15 to the UC Board of Regents.
(10 July)

President Yudof's letter to the UC community on furlough proposal
In an open letter to the University of California community, UC President Mark Yudof spells out the details of the systemwide furlough plan he will propose to the Board of Regents next week, and thanks staff and faculty for their comments and recommendations that helped shape the final proposal.
(10 July)

New opportunity to apply for voluntary separation option
Employees who are considering separating or retiring from their jobs — and not returning to UC employment for at least three years — can apply for this option to leave with a severance payment. The new VSO-2 is open to full-time or part-time non-represented career staff, non-represented librarians, and represented employees in participating unions. The deadline to apply is Aug. 7, 2009.
(08 July)

Berkeley's GradLink-on-the-Web wins Sautter Award, UC's top technology honor
Last week the University of California recognized UC Berkeley’s GradLink-on-the-Web and its developers with the Larry L. Sautter Award for Innovation in Information Technology. The award honors top technology projects from the 10 UC campuses.
(22 June)

UC President Yudof proposes three systemwide furlough/salary reduction options
With the University of California facing a severe reduction in state funding, President Mark Yudof has offered three options for furloughs and/or salary reductions that would be applied systemwide.
(18 June)

Chancellor delivers grim budget news at BSA gathering
The news, mostly bad, for the annual meeting with staff: deeper budget cuts, more layoffs, and likely 8 percent wage reductions
(16 June)

Budget Message from Chancellor and Provost
In an urgent letter to the campus community about California's financial crisis, Chancellor Birgeneau and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Breslauer discuss actions to cut costs across the UC system, explain what they think may happen, and describe their leadership strategy for the Berkeley campus in these difficult times.
(16 June)

Life after Berkeley
New retirees from offices all over campus share their feelings about Cal, their reasons for bidding Berkeley adieu, and their plans for the future. From violin-building to travel abroad, they may be stepping down, but most aren't slowing down.
(11 June)

Good news for campus car commuters
A bit piece of good budget news: P&T holds the line on parking-permit fees.
(11 June)

Political scientist Chhibber named to head IIS
Teacher, scholar, and former chair of the political science department named to a five-year term as director of the Institute of International Studies.
(11 June)

Philip Brett Fund to support LGBT studies
A new fund to support research into LGBT topics in any discipline has been created to memorialize a professor who pioneered gay studies in music.
(11 June)

Additional campus, UC budget cuts pending
The state budget picture as it applies to UC remains unclear, though largely discouraging. A bright spot in the gloom: cuts to vital Cal Grant support for students in need of financial aid are off the table for now.
(11 June)

Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom wins a 2009 Bay Area CFO of the Year award
Nathan Brostrom, vice chancellor for administration, last week was named Bay Area CFO of the Year for a non-public company by the San Francisco Business Times and Larkin Street Youth Services. He was one of six winners honored because they "exemplify the professionalism, integrity, resilience and mastery of key skills that make a great CFO."
(01 June)

Ronald Takaki, pioneer and legend in ethnic studies, dies at age 70
Ronald Takaki, professor emeritus of ethnic studies at the UC Berkeley, and a preeminent scholar of U.S. race relations who taught the University of California's first black history course, died at his home in Berkeley on Tuesday, May 26, at age 70. He had struggled for years with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune condition that attacks the central nervous system. Although Takaki retired from UC Berkeley in 2003, he was frequently seen on campus, delivering guest lectures to standing-room-only audiences or joining marches about social justice, with his shock of silver hair, trim runner's body and professorial spectacles.
(28 May)

Campanile’s spire to be repaired
Sather Tower, better known as the Campanile, will be having a little work done this summer, necessitating occasional short-term closures. But what nonagenarian doesn't need a little cosmetic intervention every now and again?
(26 May)

Matías Tarnopolsky new director of Cal Performances
Robert Birgeneau, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, today (Wednesday, May 20) announced the appointment of Matías Tarnopolsky as director of Cal Performances. The announcement was made at a press conference in Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus.
(20 May)

As voters weigh state's budget options, UC Berkeley eyes severe options for addressing cuts
With a slate of critical ballot propositions facing voters on Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday offered two revised scenarios for mending the state's worsening budget outlook. One is bad news for the University of California. The other, for some, is too grim to contemplate.
(15 May)

Graduation ceremony season starts tomorrow (Thursday)
Pixar Animation co-founder Alvy Ray Smith; Sir Andrew Duncan Crockett, president of JP Morgan International; State Treasurer Bill Lockyer and world-renowned sleep researcher Matt Walker will be among the speakers passing on acumen and inspiration to graduating students at UC Berkeley, at ceremonies starting tomorrow (Thursday, May 14).
(13 May)

Managers who embrace change to be honored
The 21st annual BSA Excellence in Management awards, presented by the Berkeley Staff Assembly, will be conferred on 22 campus managers.
(12 May)

Assistive Technology Center opens new lab
An expanded Assistive Technology Teaching and Learning Center, for use by students in the campus Disabled Students Program, was opened at UC Berkeley on Monday, May 11.
(12 May)

Top graduating senior is an intellectual superstar
Emma Shaw Crane spent her teens riding horses and making mischief at her Waldorf school in Santa Rosa, Calif. She filled out her application to UC Berkeley, while recovering from typhoid on a beach in southern Mexico. Growing up among activists and anarchists, Shaw Crane said she never expected to be admitted to a top research university.But like her thick, tawny hair, Shaw Crane's life is full of twists and turns. Today, she has landed a coveted prize as UC Berkeley's top graduating senior, selected to receive the University Medal and address thousands of her peers at Commencement Convocation on May 22. She also will receive a $2,500 scholarship.
(12 May)

School of Public Health launches $5 million Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholars Program
An ambitious initiative designed to meet the increasing need for highly educated public health workers launched today. The Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholars Program, funded by a $5 million grant to the School of Public Health, is expected to expand California’s public health workforce, with an emphasis on recruiting students from underserved communities and placing them in health departments and other organizations that serve vulnerable populations.
(12 May)

Neil Henry named dean of Graduate School of Journalism
Award-winning journalist, author and professor Neil Henry has been chosen as dean of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, a post he has held on a transitional basis since 2007.
(08 May)

Hackers attack campus databases, steal Social Security numbers, other data
The University of California, Berkeley, today (Friday, May 8) began notifying students, alumni and others that their personal information may have been stolen after hackers attacked restricted computer databases in the campus's health services center.
(08 May)

Dishing diversity at the dinner table
All in the family: A mother and her adult daughter both have campus jobs dedicated to increasing diversity at Berkeley.
(07 May)

Mentoring is its own reward … but plaques are nice, too
A recent round of awards honor the campus's invaluable graduate-student instructors . . . and the faculty who mentor them.
(07 May)

Workforce- reduction measures are having an impact
A variety of workforce-reduction measures announced in March are contributing to the campus's bottom line.
(07 May)

UC president addresses Berkeley Senate
Mark Yudof addressed his good-news/bad-news budget message to faculty at last week's Senate meeting.
(01 May)

Jennifer Wolch named ninth dean of College of Environmental Design
Jennifer Wolch, a leading scholar of urban analysis and planning, will take the helm at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design on July 1, 2009. Wolch will become the college's ninth dean and Berkeley's fourth current woman dean.
(29 April)

An impatient man, a hopeful moment
At the April 23 groundbreaking for the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies' new campus home, Al Gore paid tribute to its founder and, especially, to the students whose engagement gives the center such promise to aid the world's poor.
(24 April)

Professors ace teaching test
Five University of California, Berkeley, professors have been chosen by their department colleagues and students to receive a 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award, the campus's most prestigious honor for superlative instruction.
(22 April)

Al Gore to speak at groundbreaking of new Blum poverty studies building
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new home of the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley, this Thursday, April 23. Gore shared the 2007 Noble Peace Prize for his efforts to bring worldwide understanding to the issue of global climate change.
(20 April)

Voluntary separation with severance pay is now an option
A newly approved program could offer an attractive option to staff considering retirement: a severance payment based on their job classification and length of service.
(16 April)

A truly distinguished lot
Five faculty members will be honored April 22 at this year's Distinguished Teaching Awards ceremony. Learn about them from our "Do-ers" profiles…
(16 April)

Campus staffers honored for 'going beyond' daily responsibilities
At last week's annual recognition event, three staff teams and 22 individuals were honored for their exceptional hard work on Berkeley's behalf.
(16 April)

Breyer: Faith in reason, or faith in force?
According to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who spoke at Berkeley last week, the rule of law is a "subtle thing" that relies on citizens to follow it, and on governments to enforce it.
(16 April)

Career Compass maps out its next stage
The campus's multifaceted workforce initiative enters its next phase this month, with innovations that will make it possible to compare specific jobs (and their pay levels) to the external market.
(16 April)

Campus helps graduating students cope with bleak job market
With the Class of 2009 understandably worried about employment prospects after graduation next month, UC Berkeley is helping seniors prepare for a job market riddled with layoffs and hiring freezes.
(15 April)

UC Berkeley welcomes visitors April 18 for Cal Day 2009
The Year of Science, Charles Darwin's birthday, the Obama administration, and the economic crisis will be highlighted at this year's Cal Day, the annual open house at the University of California, Berkeley. On Saturday, April 18, at least 35,000 people again are expected to descend upon one of the world's most prestigious research universities, accessing museums, buildings and labs, many of which are typically closed to the public.
(09 April)

Berkeley moves toward climate neutrality
A new report outlines the steps Berkeley has taken over the past two years to attain its goal of cutting back its greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2014.
(09 April)

Cal Day: It's about the dazzle
The annual campus open house on April 18 will offer dance, music, theatre, lectures, hands-on activities, tours — a banquet of opportunities at which 35,000 are expected to nourish themselves.
(09 April)

"Pursuit of Happyness" hero to address 2009 graduates
Chris Gardner, the self-made entrepreneur and philanthropist whose homelessness-to-riches story inspired the 2006 autobiography and feature film, "The Pursuit of Happyness," will deliver the keynote address this spring at the UC Berkeley's Commencement Convocation, an annual event honoring all graduating seniors. Gardner's commitment to speak at the Greek Theatre on Friday, May 22, is a triumph for the Senior Class Council of the Californians, the student group that plans Commencement Convocation.
(08 April)

Almost 13,000 high school students offered admission to UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, announced today (Tuesday, April 7) that it has offered freshman admission for the 2009-2010 school year to almost 13,000 high school students, including several nationally-ranked debaters, a world-champion figure skater, and a set of triplets.
(07 April)

Campus police chief will step down in July
Victoria Harrison will step down as chief of police at UC Berkeley in July, concluding a 36-year law-enforcement career that began as a student CSO at UC Santa Barbara. Over her 19 years as UCPD chief, Harrison successfully saw the campus through wide-ranging adversity.
(26 March)

Campus leaders tell Town Hall they hope to minimize layoffs, but must close a 'huge funding gap'
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and his vice chancellor for administration, Nathan Brostrom, discussed the campus's budget challenges and answered questions from some of the hundreds of UC Berkeley staff attending a town hall forum in Wheeler Auditorium on March 24.
(24 March)

Oakland police Sgt. Daniel Sakai killed in line of duty was a '96 Cal grad
Oakland police Sgt. Daniel Sakai, who was killed March 21 along with three fellow officers, was a '96 Cal grad and husband of a UC Berkeley police officer.
(23 March)

A poet views the oak-grove standoff
Professor English Robert Hass, in his Faculty Research Lecture last week, said his subject would be “thinking about nature.” His thesis? That “we don’t do it very well.”
(19 March)

A free lunch, with filmmakers Ang Lee and James Schamus
Two celebrated moviemakers have spent the week at Berkeley as part of this year’s “On the Same Page” program for undergrads
(19 March)

Quench your thirst the Berkeley way
Drinking fountains for the 21st century: just one way Berkeley is overcoming its bottled-water habit.
(19 March)

A new garden grows at Berkeley
A group of students has been tilling and planting a conspicuous space in the heart of campus . . . to grow their own food, and to show others how it’s done.
(19 March)

Staff invited to March 24 town hall on the budget
Staff and non-senate academic employees are invited to a town-hall meeting to discuss Berkeley's budget situation and plans to address it.
(19 March)

New Mark Twain book offers fresh insights into author
Fans of another famous author, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, best known by his pen name, Mark Twain, will likely be lining up for "Who is Mark Twain?" – an intriguing collection of two dozen previously unpublished sketches and essays by Twain that will be in bookstores on April 21. The materials come from The Mark Twain Papers and Project at UC Berkeley.
(17 March)

From the Chancellor's Office: Followup on the budget and senior administrators' actions
With staff and faculty forums coming up to address actions UC Berkeley is taking to address the budget crisis, the chancellor's office also discusses questions about whether senior campus administrators should take cuts in their salaries.
(16 March)

One week, four key lectures
Pearls will spill from podiums all over campus this coming week, starting when our own Robert Hass, professor of English, delivers the first of this year's two Faculty Research Lectures on Thursday, March 12. Coming up next week: two Hitchcock Lectures from prominent University of Chicago biologist Neil Shubin, and an intriguing talk about the future of the Republican Party by the Iowa GOP congressman who made headlines when he endorsed Barack Obama.
(11 March)

Staffer a winner in campus essay contest
Linda Finch Hicks’ essay about an aspect of her childhood in Tokyo was submitted on the theme of “Rock, paper, scissors” in this year’s Fabilli-Hoffer Essay Contest . . . the only such campus competition open to staff and faculty.
(11 March)

Newspaper on a mission
Daily Cal editor Bryan Thomas is working hard to keep the campus’s student paper alive in the present while positioning it for the future.
(11 March)

Berkeley student body lines up and around and around to see the Dalai Lama
The line, the likes of which had been seen only once before, formed early for tickets to see the Dalai Lama at his April 25 appearance here at UC Berkeley.
(11 March)

Chancellor, campus leaders brief the media on Berkeley budget issues
Campus leaders spoke to the media on March 10 about the impacts of the state and global economic crisis on UC Berkeley and steps being taken to respond to the $60-70 million campus budget shortfall projected for 2009-10. Reporters from some 20 media outlets dialed in to the conference call.
(11 March)

New options for employees aim to reduce workforce and workload
Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom says some layoffs are likely, but campus planning focuses on ways to shrink the workforce through voluntary reductions and attrition. New ideas are also emerging to reduce workload and save money.
(09 March)

Birgeneau, Breslauer lay out budget situation, options to address shortfalls
With many challenges, much planning, and new programs, UC Berkeley intends to emerge from the recession with a stronger foundation for the future.
(08 March)

Stiles Hall: a 'living room' with a committed fan club
It's a student-services center, a cauldron of social causes, an incubator for campus and community initiatives, and an important contributor to Berkeley's diversity.
(04 March)

Campus turns out for opening of Sutardja Dai Hall
With 141,000 square feet of innovation-inspiring lab and classroom space, Berkeley's new CITRIS building is ready to host decades of discovery.
(04 March)

News Briefs

(26 February)

'Pockets of intimacy' for undergrads
"Teaching freshmen taught me," says a faculty member who has organized more than 20 seminars for lower-division students since 1997. He's part of a program that offers 'meaningful intellectual contact' to the campus's youngest scholars.
(26 February)

News Briefs

(25 February)

News Briefs

(18 February)

Sexual-harassment training for supervisors
The campus offers supervisors several options for completing the mandatory two-hour training in sexual-harassment prevention that by law must be conducted every two years.
(18 February)

Applicants sought for 2009-2010 grants from Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund
Non-profit and neighborhood groups based in the city of Berkeley may now apply for grants from the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund for 2009-2010. Funds will go to select groups who partner with the campus to improve the quality of life for Berkeley residents.
(18 February)

What's cooking at the Library?
A tour through the most appetizing stacks on campus — the culinary collection in Berkeley's Koshland bioscience library.
(12 February)

Regents act on UCRP, eligibility

(12 February)

News Briefs

(12 February)

Plans to restore historic campus building and provide new Blum Center home move forward
Plans to renovate, expand and seismically upgrade the campus’s historic Naval Architecture Building took a major step forward last week, following UC Regents review of the plan. The building will create a home for the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies and provide space for engineering faculty along with work space for students.
(09 February)

News Briefs

(05 February)

Library @ Berkeley
A roundup of spring-semester exhibits and events; a look at new electronic resources; schedules of training workshops, and more useful news for the campus community.
(28 January)

In case of emergency, get a warning
By phone, text message, or e-mail, WarnMe will have vital information for you
(28 January)

The state of Berkeley's budget
A Q&A with two top campus decisionmakers yields insights into how Cal will deal with the most difficult fiscal environment in decades.
(22 January)

Picture-perfect preservation
The Bancroft's Pictorial Collection is a repository for the visual resources on which so much historical research depends
(22 January)

The Mark Twain Project stretches out
New digs mean not just more room for researchers, but better conditions for archival storage
(22 January)

Retrofitted and revamped, Bancroft reopens to regular hours
The Bancroft Library is back - and it's better than ever. One of the University of California, Berkeley's premier special collections libraries, it reopened this week with regular hours following a three-year, $64 million seismic retrofit and upgrade.
(21 January)

Matthew Tirrell, UC Santa Barbara engineering dean, to join UC Berkeley as new chair of bioengineering
In a move that signals a major new direction for bioengineering research and teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, Matthew Tirrell, dean of the College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, has been appointed chair of the Department of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley. Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau announced the appointment today (Thursday, Jan. 15), following a nationwide search.
(15 January)

Archaeological study complete at athletic facility construction site
No evidence of prehistoric Native American artifacts or human remains were found beneath the construction site for UC Berkeley's new Student Athlete High Performance Center, according to a report on the geoarchaeological dig commissioned by the campus.
(08 January)

Weatherproofing the campus against financial storms
In his new role as a campus vice chancellor, Frank Yeary advises University Hall administrators on strategic financial planning. The former international investment banker, in this Q&A, discusses financial challenges facing UC and the Berkeley campus.
(05 January)

A spirit of generosity is in the air
The worsening financial crisis makes getting into the holiday spirit a little harder this year. At UC Berkeley, however, faculty and staff are looking beyond the headlines, doing what they can to make other people's celebrations a little brighter.
(23 December)

Obama chooses Nobelist Steven Chu as secretary of energy
President-elect Barack Obama today (Monday, Dec. 15) nominated University of California, Berkeley, physicist and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu to be the next secretary of energy.
(15 December)

Sustainability: A progress report
Berkeley demonstrates green leadership not just in the UC system but among universities nationwide.
(11 December)

Neuroanatomist Jeffery Winer has died at 63
Neurobiologist Jeffery A. Winer, who mapped the network of nerves that allow the brain to represent and interpret sound, died Dec. 9 at the age of 63.
(11 December)

December graduates to attend convocation ceremony this Sunday
Nearly 3,000 students at UC Berkeley are graduating this fall, and several hundred of them will walk across the Zellerbach Auditorium stage in caps and gowns this Sunday, Dec. 7, at the 2008 December Graduates Convocation.
(02 December)

Final fall enrollment data shows increase in students
More than 35,400 undergraduate and graduate students are currently enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, a few hundred more students than were enrolled a year ago, according to figures released today (Thursday, Nov. 13).
(13 November)

How governor’s latest budget proposals affect UC and UC employees
As part of his midyear budget proposal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week recommended a further budget cut of $65.5 million for the University of California system in this fiscal year. But as his proposals move to the Legislature for consideration, the outcome and impact are still uncertain.
(07 November)

Staff climate survey launches next week
Feedback to Equity and Inclusion division will help shape future projects.
(07 November)

WarnMe test a success
UC Berkeley successfully tested its new WarnMe individualized emergency warning system on Wednesday, sending a test alert to 2,308 randomly selected members of the campus community.
(05 November)

The meetings are virtual, the savings are real
Campus’s videoconferencing service provides a cost-effective, greener way to bring people together.
(05 November)

Birgeneau: Prepare for worsening budget picture
Temporary solution spares units from the brunt of a state-mandated midyear cut, but chancellor calls on campus to curb spending now and brace for the future.
(29 October)

November is Open Enrollment month
UC steps in to shield employees from increasing costs; few changes will be made to healthcare plans.
(29 October)

Social sciences dean and American history scholar dies at 55
Gjerde, a leading historian on Scandinavian immigration to the Midwest and dean of social sciences at UC Berkeley died of a heart attack on Sunday, Oct. 26, at his home in Albany. He was 55.
(29 October)

Experts to gather this week for UC Berkeley-UCLA symposium on mortgage meltdown
A timely symposium, "Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy and Public Policy," held jointly by UC Berkeley and UCLA will be held this Thursday and Friday, Oct. 30-31, at UC Berkeley's Alumni House. Among the featured speakers will be Federal Reserve Bank Chair Ben Bernanke (speaking via satellite)and San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen, professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business.
(27 October)

Chancellor asks campus to prepare for worsening budget picture
Facing a $5 million midyear budget cut, UC Berkeley announced this week that it will absorb the cut via central-campus deficit financing. But while this temporary solution spares units from the brunt of the state-mandated cut, Chancellor Birgeneau called on campus to curb spending now and brace for the future.
(23 October)

Police arrest two suspects in Sept. 30 Clark Kerr Campus robbery
UC Berkeley police have arrested two UC Berkeley students on suspicion of armed robbery and attempted robbery in the Sept. 30 robbery of two students at the campus's Clark Kerr residential complex.
(21 October)

UC takes action to help protect employees against rising health insurance costs
A message from Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom spells out details on UC employee health insurance costs for 2009, including the news that a one-time $5.2 million contribution from the university will help offset premium increases and keep employee costs lower.
(09 October)

Faculty Program for Engaged Scholarship prioritizes service
For many, making a difference begins in the classroom and extends to the community
(09 October)

Iconic Sather Gate to be restored to its former majesty
Starting this month, Sather Gate, UC Berkeley's famous Beaux Arts south portal will be gently dismantled, seismically fortified and restored to its former might and majesty. There are no plans to close down the nearly century-old gateway during the $1.5 million restoration project, and pedestrians and authorized vehicles will continue to pass through the area that separates Sproul Plaza from the central campus.
(06 October)

Asian Americans could play key role in presidential race, study shows
Among Asian American voters, many are supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama, but another sizable portion remains undecided - a development that could set the stage for Asian Americans to play a pivotal role in the outcome of the election, according to a new national survey released today (Monday, Oct. 6) by researchers from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside); and University of Southern California.
(06 October)

Band on the run marks its 50th reunion
The Cal Band of ’58 was all over the map: from Berkeley to Brussels and back, with a quick detour to the Russian pavilion
(02 October)

Message to campus regarding robbery incident
In light of an early morning break-in and robbery at Clark Kerr Campus, campus police have increased the number and visibility of patrols on and near Clark Kerr and have made the investigation of the crime a top priority, Vice Chancellor Harry LeGrande told the campus community Wednesday.
(01 October)

UC Berkeley launches major multi-year campaign to raise $3 billion
UC Berkeley announced a landmark fundraising campaign to raise $3 billion to secure for future generations its status as the nation's preeminent public teaching and research university. Nearly $1.3 billion of the goal has already been raised through gifts and pledges.
(19 September)

Events mark countdown to campaign kickoff
Largest-ever campus fundraising drive will be launched next week
(12 September)

Peacefully and without incident, tree-sitters end their protest
In a circus din of chainsaws, chants, choppers, and the drumbeats of recycling bins and water-cooler bottles, an audience of several hundred — from protest supporters to curious onlookers — witnessed the peaceful conclusion Tuesday to the 21-month-long tree-sit near the western wall of Memorial Stadium.
(09 September)

All that glitters
The Berkeleyan was honored by CASE this year, winning the national silver medal in the category Periodical Staff Writing for Internal Audiences.
(27 August)

Berkeley’s online calendar wins UC’s top technology award
Innovative portal, the product of a combined student/staff effort, puts hundreds of campus events at your fingertips
(27 August)

U.S. News again declares Berkeley the nation’s top public university
UC Berkeley retained its rating as the No. 1 public university in the country in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities released last Friday. In the magazine’s ranking of research universities overall, Berkeley again ranked 21st, behind 20 private universities.

(27 August)

FASDI helps Berkeley get its facts together
It’s a system focused on integrating data from all over campus into maps, websites, and other platforms that make information — currently lodged in dozens of silos — more available to all
(27 August)

Obituary
Elizabeth (Betsy) Badè Bacon, residence director of International House for 27 years, passed away peacefully in Berkeley on May 30, surrounded by her loving family.
(27 August)

Obituary
Raymond Kent, a professor emeritus of African history whose distinguished career at Berkeley spanned more than two decades, died on Aug. 13 of congestive heart failure at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland. He was 79.
(27 August)

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

For the press, Birgeneau lays out his priorities
An emerging strategy for sidestepping the recurring impact of state's budget woes, along with Berkeley's unique new program for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and Cal athletes' medal heist at the Beijing Olympics, dominated the topics addressed by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau at his annual back-to-school press briefing on Monday.
(26 August)

Q&A with Cheryl Resh, UC Berkeley financial aid director
A discussion of how student financial aid at UC Berkeley is being affected by the nation's economic woes and mortgage crisis, and a look at the impact of the recently reauthorized federal Higher Education Act.
(26 August)

New alerting and warning system launches today
A new campus alerting and warning service, called WarnMe, launched today (Aug. 25,2008) to proactively contact students, faculty and staff when there's a threat to campus safety.
(25 August)

Heading back to campus
Fall classes begin at UC Berkeley this Wednesday (Aug. 27) for more than 35,000 students. Semester highlights include a new program for students who are Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, a linguistics course on a never-before-studied African language, and the debut of a new alerting and warning system to help keep the campus community safe in an immediate crisis.
(25 August)

National magazines tout two chemists and two astronomers as top innovators in their fields
Four young UC Berkeley faculty members - a pair of married chemists and two astronomers - have been singled out by national magazines as up-and-coming scientists to watch.Two married assistant professors of chemistry – Michelle Chang and Chris Chang – were among 35 young researchers named this month by the magazine Technology Review as 2008's top young innovators under 35.
(22 August)

A natural talent
Growing up, Rita Gardner could see objects only at close range. The current executive assistant to Vice Chancellor for Administration Nathan Brostrom was extremely nearsighted, a condition that went undetected until she was 12. It’s not surprising, then, that in her photography Gardner tends to focus on the micro.
(20 August)

Darin Jensen
In this new semi-regular feature, the Berkeleyan showcases a staff member whose work is essential to the smooth functioning of the campus (or one of its many departments and units). Do you know someone whose job would interest our readers? Send an e-mail to berkeleyan@berkeley.edu with your suggestions.
(20 August)

Building an energy 'cathedral'
It’s easy to see why Clem Fortman, a postdoc in the lab of synthetic-biology guru (and Berkeley chemical-engineering professor) Jay Keasling, wanted to open the gates of higher education to promising students who might otherwise never get a foot in the door. A self-described “GED guy,” the impressively tattooed Fortman was kicked out of high school at 17, served a stint in the army, and “goofed off for a number of years” before finally enrolling at the University of Minnesota at the age of 28. Having earned his Ph.D. there in 2006, he’s now on the cutting edge of scientific discovery, working to find a way to turn nonfood substances into cheap, green, domestically produced energy.
(20 August)

From the Bronx to Berkeley
Back in the South Bronx, Alexander Lambie and Lorraine Avila are used to being standouts. For one thing, they study at Bronx Academy of Letters, a public high school where writing is the focus and college is the goal. For another, they’re just plain smart. And funny, independent-minded, and articulate. But six weeks at Berkeley this summer, taking university-level philosophy and psychology courses through a new program funded by a philanthropically minded Cal alumnus, taught these about-to-be-seniors an unexpected lesson.
(20 August)

Message from Chancellor Birgeneau: Researchers must be free from threats and violence by animal rights terrorists
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau has denounced the ongoing campaign by animal rights terrorists who seek to intimidate, threaten and, with the fire bombings of a home and automobile at UC Santa Cruz, to harm University of California academic researchers and their families.
(07 August)

Recipients announced for Chancellor's Community Partnership Awards
The Chancellor's Community Partnership Awards for 2008-2009 are being given to 18 projects that either will physically improve the city of Berkeley's physical environment or improve the economic, social and cultural well-being of its residents.
(06 August)

Vice Chancellor for Research Beth Burnside to retire as of October 31, 2008
Professor Beth Burnside who has served as Vice Chancellor for Research since January 1, 2001 will be retiring and leaving office as of October 31, 2008.
(29 July)

An emphasis on staff diversity
Two entities with an interest in promoting diversity among University of California staff will be conducting public sessions on the topic beginning this week.
(21 July)

Summer shines on a bumper crop of new deans
Seven new deans are taking the reins of leadership in time for the start of the fall semester in August — five of them permanently, and two on an interim basis.
(17 July)

A champion of equity and fairness
For the past 20 years Carmen McKines has served Berkeley in positions requiring an ambassador’s diplomacy, a referee’s fairness, and a psychotherapist’s discretion. She retired last month as ombuds for students and postdoctoral appointees and received the Berkeley Citation, a fitting capstone to her 40-year UC career, at her retirement party on June 26.
(17 July)

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

Strike continues at UC campuses, picketers rally at system headquarters
On the third day of their strike over wages, more than 300 union service and patient care workers and their sympathizers rallied Wednesday outside the University of California headquarters in downtown Oakland.
(16 July)

Strike at UC campuses enters second day
Hundreds of picketers returned to University of California campuses Tuesday for the second day of a strike over wages and benefits for union service and patient care workers.
(15 July)

Strike under way at UC campuses
Union service workers at the University of California's 10 campuses began a planned five-day strike Monday, despite a San Francisco judge's restraining order prohibiting them from walking off the job without giving adequate notice.
(14 July)

Court issues restraining order against planned AFSCME strike
A Superior Court judge in San Francisco issued a restraining order Friday prohibiting the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' announced strike at University of California facilities throughout the state scheduled for July 14-18. AFSCME represents UC patient care and service employees, and the university has been in separate negotiations with the union for new contracts for both employee groups since last year.
(11 July)

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)