Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund streamlines application process
The Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund has launched a streamlined application process for the 2011-2012 grant cycle. This year, the fund has approximately $225,000 to distribute to innovative campus-community partnerships that yield real-world results in the areas of arts and culture, community safety, economic development, environmental stewardship and education.
(15 December)

New Southside joint safety patrol already a success
After only a few months of operation, a pilot program on the city's south side that set up a joint safety patrol by the University of California, Berkeley, Police Department (UCPD) and the Berkeley Police Department (BPD) is showing successful results.
(22 November)

Oral history weaves story of the Oakland Army Base and its profound region-wide impact
The Regional Oral History Project at the Bancroft Library has interviewed nearly 50 people associated with the now-defunct Oakland Army Base — either in military or civilian capacities — over nearly six decades. The oral histories, and an associated book, limn the key role the base played in U.S. military conflicts as well as the economy and culture of the San Francisco Bay Area.
(04 October)

Campus, city police form joint safety patrol
UC Berkeley and Berkeley city police have formed a new joint patrol to target improving public safety in Southside neighborhoods and after home games.
(24 August)

Architecture professor and activist Kenneth Simmons dies at 77
Kenneth Harlan Simmons, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, died of cancer in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 6 at the age of 77. He was known for his work in equal rights, urban planning and community development from San Francisco to Detroit, Harlem and South Africa.
(02 August)

Chancellor Funds 15 Campus – Community Partnerships
Nearly $225,000 in grants through the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund have been given by Chancellor Birgeneau to joint campus/city of Berkeley community service and neighborhood improvement projects.
(23 July)

California high-speed rail ridership forecast not reliable, study finds
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s forecasts of demand and ridership for a new San Francisco-to-Los Angeles high-speed train are not reliable because they are based on an inconsistent model, according to a new study by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies. The study is the first academic review of the rail authority’s ridership forecasts, which was included in California’s successful application for federal stimulus dollars.
(01 July)

Study finds governor’s budget would cost jobs, economic output
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cuts-only approach to balancing the state budget will leave deep economic scars, according to a new report issued today (Thursday, May 27) by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. But it adds that balancing cuts with targeted revenue increases would save nearly 250,000 jobs – half of them in the private sector.
(27 May)

IGS goes Web 2.0 with information resource on state propositions
The University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) is taking a decidedly Web 2.0 tack to help voters sort through the facts, fiction and political posturing around five propositions on the state’s June 8 primary election ballot. IGS has collaborated to produce California Choices, a comprehensive resource guide with a unique and colorful multimedia presence and an online tool (http://californiachoices.org/ballot-measures/endorsements) that, along with a wealth of related data, lets voters electronically share their personal positions on ballot propositions.
(26 May)

Downsizing the prison-industrial complex
California has created, through its laws and policies, a hugely bloated correctional system, says Barry Krisberg, a well-known advocate of criminal-justice reform. With 170,000 prisoners held in dozens of overcrowded facilities located mostly in rural areas, the system is financially unsustainable — setting the stage, potentially, for smarter policies, he says.
(04 May)

Can California fix the Delta before disaster strikes?
Finding ways to better manage the overlapping infrastructure systems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is the goal of a four-year, $2 million project headed by UC Berkeley researchers and funded by the National Science Foundation. Networks of highways, railroads, and electrical, gas and telecommunication lines intersect in the Delta, which serves as the hub for aqueducts serving 23 million people and 3 million acres of agriculture.
(20 April)

Census blitz next week aims for complete count in student residence halls at Berkeley
Early next week, thousands of UC Berkeley students will stand up and be counted, in the 2010 U.S. census. The civic-minded, even fun, action will unfold the evenings of April 19 and 20 in student residence halls, where more than 6,000 students live. The upcoming student census blitz is the culmination of months of organizing by the UC Complete Count Committee, or UC4, a unique town-gown-federal coalition.
(15 April)

Campus, neighborhood association settle stadium dispute
UC Berkeley and the Panoramic Hill Association have reached a legal settlement agreement that resolves issues related to recent litigation, and establishes parameters for the use and operation of California Memorial Stadium after extensive seismic retrofitting and renovation work is completed in 2012.
(08 April)

Berkeley Scholars to Cal works to close the achievement gap
By providing both extra schooling and good examples, the 10-year-old Berkeley Scholars to Cal gives promising African American and Latino students the beliefand boost they need to get into college. New statistics show the progress its participants have made.
(09 March)

New collaborations sought for Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund
The Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund is seeking grant applications to fund neighborhood improvement projects and community service programs, run jointly by UC Berkeley and the community, that strive to improve the quality of life in Berkeley.
(08 March)

Study says Obama health plan increases access, affordability in California
President Obama’s newest health reform proposal expands access to coverage and affordability for many low- and middle-income Californians by creating a new health insurance exchange and expanding Medicaid, according to a new study by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education.
(24 February)

What ails California?
"What Ails California?," a daylong conference held last week on the Berkeley campus, at times resembled an episode of the TV show House -- but without the "aha" moment in which the patient's disease is identified and the cure prescribed. The state's voters, it seems, want change. But what kind of change? And will it help solve California's budget crisis?
(27 October)

Stephen Barnett, California Supreme Court expert, dies at 73
Stephen Barnett, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of law and a prominent expert on the California Supreme Court, died of complications resulting from cardiac arrest on Tuesday, Oct. 13. He was 73.
(16 October)

Study says California furloughs will save less than anticipated
Much of the savings from California state workers’ three-day-a-month mandatory furlough will be offset by reduced revenue and increased costs to the state general fund in future years, says a study released today (Thursday, Oct. 15) by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education.
(15 October)

Law school enhances loan forgiveness program in response to tough economy
In an effort to help its students and alumni during the current economic crisis, the UC Berkeley School of Law has significantly strengthened its Loan Repayment Assistance Program, already one of the nation's most generous loan forgiveness plans.
(03 September)

Berkeley Unified's racial integration plan a model for other school districts nationwide, says new report
A new UC Berkeley-UCLA report says the Berkeley Unified School District's plan to maintain diversity could serve as a model for other public schools nationwide that are seeking constitutionally sound desegregation programs. Not only has the integration plan achieved substantial integration, it was upheld earlier this year by the state appellate court, a decision that the California Supreme Court allowed to stand.
(01 September)

Arrest of kidnap suspect Phillip Garrido hinged on actions of two UC Berkeley police officers
Alert action by two members of the UC Berkeley police force played a key role in Wednesday's arrest of kidnapping suspect Phillip Garrido and the return of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who in 1991 at age 11 was abducted from her South Lake Tahoe neighborhood.
(28 August)

UC presents revised plan for housing Helios research
University of California representatives are presenting to state government officials newly revised plans for housing the Helios research initiatives that will explore promising new solar-energy technologies.
(03 August)

Green Corridor Partnership picks up steam as UC, LBNL drive innovation
Representatives of UC Berkeley and other members of a public-private East Bay consortium designed to solve environmental challenges while creating jobs gathered in Oakland June 26 for the partnership's second annual summit.
(02 July)

2009 Childhood Obesity Conference addresses new challenges, approaches to improving children's health
The 2009 Childhood Obesity Conference, titled "Creating Healthy Places for All Children," comes amid challenging times as more families struggle with limited food budgets, and communities struggle with fewer resources.
(03 June)

Three UC Berkeley faculty members chosen for state advisory committee to help devise cap-and-trade program
Three scholars from the University of California, Berkeley, have been appointed to the state's new Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee, a group charged with helping California implement the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32).
(01 June)

Why do we tolerate a massive prison system that produces 70% recidivism rates?
Legal scholar Jonathan Simon discusses the social and fiscal impacts of California's approach to crime and punishment. Unless we confront its central flaws, he says, "everything is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." Part 2 of a two-part Q&A.
(07 May)

Why parole does not work in California
California's criminal justice system has been thrust into the national spotlight by the shooting deaths of four Oakland police officers by a recently released state prisoner. Criminal-law expert Jonathan Simon talks about the 'broken' system he has studied since the 1980s.
(06 May)

PACE hosts teacher pay conferences
New ways of compensating teachers in an era of ferocious budget shortfalls will be the topic of discussion for about 400 school superintendents, leaders of teacher organizations and school board members from across California at conferences next Monday and Tuesday (March 30-31) in Oakland and Los Angeles.
(26 March)

Public Health Heroes to be honored at March 18 ceremony
A global health humanitarian, a health care system efficiency expert, a nursing advocate and an information technology non-profit group each will receive a 13th annual Public Health Heroes Award from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health on Wednesday, March 18.
(17 March)

Dedication of new CITRIS headquarters marks new stage of innovation to help fuel economic growth
The newest research facility on the UC Berkeley campus, to be dedicated today (Friday, Feb. 27), embodies the innovation and entrepreneurship needed to fuel economic growth and arrives at a time when the state and nation seek relief from the recession. At a ceremony this afternoon, Sutardja Dai Hall will become the new home of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute@CITRIS Berkeley.
(27 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)