Journalism school hosts "American President" photo exhibit
While political conventioneers work themselves into a frenzy over who will occupy the White House for the next four years, a new photo exhibit at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism is taking a different tack by looking at the presidencies of the past."The American President" shows off more than two dozen 16-by-20-inch images taken by Associated Press photographers of the men in the Oval Office, primarily since World War II. The exhibit at North Gate Hall on campus is open to the public through Inauguration Day (Jan. 20, 2009).
(27 August)

To preserve, protect, defend, and hang out
Like the art of photography itself, presidential image-making has come a long way since the days of the first formal, daguerreotype portraits of William Henry Harrison. Nowhere is the form on better display than in “The American President,” a collection of black-and-white and color images of U.S. presidents, future presidents, and former presidents — along with the odd would-be president — taken by Associated Press photographers over the past century and a half.
(27 August)

What Biden brings to the party
As the Democrats convene in Denver, Berkeley’s top pundits and political handicappers assess Barack Obama’s choice for veep
(27 August)

Cal freshman, an Obama youth leader, takes a seat at the Democratic National Convention
After spending more than a year as a lead strategist for Barack Obama's youth campaign, Molly Kawahata, 18, will get to vote in her first election this November. But before that event — and her first day at UC Berkeley — she's taking a detour to Denver, as a delegate representing California's 14th Congressional District.
(25 August)

Faculty election experts
On the eve of national conventions for the Democratic and Republican parties, University of California, Berkeley experts are available to national and major regional news outlets to offer analysis and historic perspective on a wide range of topics relating to the 2008 presidential race.
(22 August)

Economists' new research shows positive effects of minimum-wage increases
As legislators in various states and Barack Obama propose minimum-wage increases, researchers at UC Berkeley's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment have found that such increases, contrary to some arguments, have positive effects on the employment of the lowest-paid workers.
(23 July)

Tom Lantos archive donated to The Bancroft Library
The papers of the late Tom Lantos of California, a leading champion of human rights and the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress, are now part of the University of California, Berkeley's Bancroft Library. The materials reflect how Lantos's lifelong dedication to human justice sprung from his remarkable early experience: the loss of his family to the Holocaust, his escape from a forced labor camp in his native Hungary during World War II; and his participation as a youth in the Nazi resistance.
(24 June)

Point of view: Campus opinions on same-sex marriage
Following the State Supreme Court's May 15 affirmation of same-sex marriage rights, members of the UC Berkeley campus community offer their reactions.
(16 May)

Quok Shee on Angel Island
Of all 200,000 immigrants held in the detention barracks on Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, none spent longer than 20-year-old Quok Shee, a new arrival from Hong Kong in the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act. In his new book Immigration at the Golden Gate, Institute for Business and Economic Research administrator Robert Barde tells her story as part of a broader look at the West Coast's immigration system then, a narrative that resonates today. Far from being the "Ellis Island of the West," welcoming newcomers from afar, Barde says, Angel Island existed to keep them out.
(30 April)

Bush under fire, friendly and otherwise
A Pulitzer-winning historian, a Washington bureau chief, a neoconservative pundit, and the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign gathered on campus last week to assess the Bush presidency. History, it seems, hath no fury like a brain-truster scorned.
(16 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)

Conference on California climate change politics, prospects
Changing Climates: Class, Culture, and Politics in the Era of Global Warming," an April 11-13 conference, will explore the challenges, conflicts and politics of climate change in California.
(03 April)

Prime-time torture gets a reality check
Among the many fans of Fox TV's 24 are U.S. Supreme Court justices and the head of Homeland Security. But the program Newsweek called "a neocon sex fantasy" also has its devotees in the U.S. military, where, according to some critics, it's viewed less as fantasy than as a training manual.
(05 March)

The commander-in-chief and the courts
The winner of the 2008 presidential election will potentially shape the future composition of the U.S. Supreme Court. This aspect of the presidential contest, infrequently discussed in media coverage of the primaries, took center stage Feb. 21 at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where a group of legal experts discussed "The Next President and the Courts."
(25 February)

Statistician's new method will test election outcomes
The first test of a UC Berkeley professor's new procedure for conducting hand tallies to verify election outcomes will be tested in next Tuesday's California primary. It will provide election officials with a long-awaited, reliable way to judge the accuracy of the vote count or tell them how much to expand hand tallies in the event of a close race.
(31 January)

Faculty, students available for presidential campaign interviews
As the California primary approaches, University of California, Berkeley, students, faculty and staff are available to provide news outlets with interviews and analysis of major campaign issues such as the economy and immigration. In addition, several election-related forums and events will be held on campus during the campaign season.
(30 January)

For Obama, the act’s the thing
Theater professor Shannon Steen peers into the candidate’s political persona and finds Horatio Alger, Abe Lincoln, and Stanislavski looking back at her.
(30 January)

Student viewpoints on the '08 presidential contest
Sixteen UC Berkeley undergrads weigh in on the election — the issues that concern them and their decision (or indecision) on the candidates.
(30 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)

Tetlock wins "Ideas for Improving World Order" award
Philip Tetlock, a professor of organizational behavior at the Haas School of Business, has earned the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order for ideas he set forth in a 2005 book that concluded political experts should be held accountable for their predictions.
(05 December)

"Big Box Living Wage Ordinance" would benefit low-wage Wal-Mart workers, minimally impact shoppers, says new study
Wal-Mart could increase its minimum wage to $10 per hour and greatly boost the well-being of its low-income workers with little financial impact on most shoppers, says a study released today by the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education.
(05 December)

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)

Study finds early difficulty for community college students
A new report by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) finds that six in 10 students who enter the California community college system as freshmen with high school diplomas and aspirations to transfer to four-year institutions drop out or lower their academic sights after just one semester. The report recommends increasing support for these students.
(20 August)

E-voting systems vulnerable to viruses and other security attacks, new report finds
A "Top-to-Bottom Review" of California's electronic voting systems has revealed flaws that leave the machines vulnerable to security attacks. The review was commissioned by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and conducted by researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
(02 August)

Researchers recommend tougher post-election audits
Two UC Berkeley researchers are among the four authors of a report released today (Wednesday, Aug. 1) that recommends more targeted and rigorous audits of paper records produced by electronic voting machines.
(01 August)

Experts on Supreme Court rulings
U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding school integration and the death penalty.
(28 June)

Martin Meyerson, former CED dean and acting chancellor, dies at age of 84
Martin Meyerson, who is credited with defusing some of the Free Speech Movement tensions at the University of California, Berkeley, while serving as acting chancellor in 1965, died Saturday (June 2). He was 84. The native of New York City also was an authority on urban development and was dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design (CED) from 1963 to 1965.
(06 June)

Inside the Beltway
Through the UC Berkeley Washington Program, Cal undergrads fan out through the D.C. area to take internships in government, non-profit, and private organizations, while learning from UC faculty at night.
(16 May)

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)

Green Biofuels Index would aid consumers, market
Confusion reigns around biofuels such as ethanol, because some production methods can be worse for the environment than gasoline refining. A UC Berkeley group proposes a Green Biofuels Index to help consumers decide where to fill their tanks, and to spur a market for "green" biofuels.
(17 April)

Joshua Cohen to present Tanner Lectures
Joshua Cohen, a distinguished political philosopher, will present this year's Tanner Lectures on Human Values, a three-day event to be held April 10-12.
(04 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)

Religion, cartoons, and the law
When a Danish newspaper published images of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, much of the world responded with outrage. But what is the appropriate legal response to religious outrage? Robert Post, this year's Una's Lecturer, argues for a distinction between hate speech and ordinary expression.
(21 March)

Researchers debunk conventional wisdom on trial witnesses
A new study authored in part by a University of California, Berkeley, professor of public policy and law throws cold water on a common theory that a confident witness who errs in trial testimony is still more credible than a less confident witness who similarly slips up.
(12 March)

Feinstein's pitch for cap-and-trade legislation
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made a rare visit to the Berkeley campus Friday, Feb. 23, to promote what she called "a practical, achievable, and sustainable regimen" to combat global climate change, beginning with a package of five bills she has either introduced in the Senate or plans to offer in the near future.
(28 February)

It's Bob Reich's story, and he's sticking to it
The Berkeley professor, former Cabinet member, and sometime playwright outlined 'four narratives of American public life' in last week's Townsend Center appearance.
(28 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)

Nelson Polsby, distinguished scholar of American politics, dies at 72
Nelson Polsby, a national authority on Congress and the presidency who inspired generations of students and colleagues at UC Berkeley and charmed them with his wit, died Tuesday (Feb. 6) at his home in Berkeley. He was 72.
(07 February)

Campus to receive papers of the late Congressman Matsui
The late U.S. Congressman Robert T. Matsui's papers, including documentation of legislative efforts surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement, welfare reform, base closures and Japanese-American reparations, will be donated to the campus's Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley officials announced today (Tuesday, Jan. 2). In conjunction with this gift, the campus is launching an effort to establish the Robert T. Matsui Center on Politics and Public Service at the Institute of Governmental Studies.
(02 January)