Climate change could severely impact California's endemic plants
California's endemic plants — those found no where else in the world — could disappear from their natural ranges as a result of global warming and associated changes in rainfall, according to a new study by UC Berkeley and Duke University researchers.
(24 June)

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)

For whom wedding bells toll — for keeps
Four years after their high-profile nuptials in San Francisco City Hall, lesbian and gay staff members report on the experience of getting hitched again.
(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)

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)

Breath of Life for California's native languages
At a time when only about half of California's 90-plus indigenous languages have living speakers, a language conference being held this month at the University of California, Berkeley, may help tribal members become the first to speak their endangered tribal languages in 50 years.
(06 June)

Journalism student wins Lange Fellowship for "California's Main Street"
After several months of weekends photographing life along Highway 99 in the state's Central Valley, Adithya Sambamurthy said he realized he was barely scratching the surface of what travelers during the Depression-era exodus to the West called "California's Main Street." Now that he has won the 2008 Dorothea Lange Fellowship, the 28-year-old student pursuing master's degrees at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism as well as in international and area studies, will take next year to finish his photographic expedition along the blacktop road that stretches from Bakersfield to Redding.
(13 May)

Sudden Oak Death pathogen is evolving, says new study that reconstructs the epidemic
A new UC Berkeley-led study finds that the pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death, a disease that has felled millions of oaks and tanoaks along the Pacific Coast, is evolving, suggesting that movement of infected plants between different quarantined regions should be minimized. The study also revealed that the pathogen got its first toehold in California's forests outside a nursery in Santa Cruz and at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County.
(16 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)

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)

More public health professionals needed to avert crisis, warns new report
UC Berkeley's School of Public Health was part of a first-of-its-kind assessment warning of a major public health workforce crisis in the U.S. unless there is an immediate influx of funding for recruitment and training of public health professionals. The report, released Feb. 27 by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), found that more than 250,000 additional public health workers are needed by 2020.
(27 February)

PACE reports says state's schools holding steady or improving
A new report from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) says California's public school students lag behind much of the nation in most areas, but have managed to hold steady or improve across subjects and grade levels, with graduation rates also eking upward in era of lagging resources, a growing population and increasing diversity.
(27 February)

Strong community networks linked to fewer recurring heart problems, new study finds
A new UC Berkeley-led study shows that low-income patients with existing heart problems are significantly less likely to have another heart attack or a recurrence of chest pain if they live in a county with higher measures of trust, cooperation and social networks – something researchers call "social capital."
(26 February)

Chancellor to legislators: UC Berkeley and city are separate entities
Chancellor Birgeneau has written to 52 elected officials in Washington, D.C., to clear up an incorrect notion that the UC Berkeley campus has any connection to actions taken by the Berkeley City Council.
(12 February)

Joint Nokia research project to capture traffic data using GPS-enabled cell phones
Researchers from UC Berkeley and Nokia are testing technology that could soon transform the way drivers navigate through congested highways. In the unprecedented field experiment, transportation researchers tested the feasibility of using GPS-enabled mobile phones to monitor real-time traffic flow while preserving the privacy of the phones’ users.
(08 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)

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)

UC Berkeley: Craigslist to establish first endowed faculty chair in new media
UC Berkeley announced plans on Jan. 17 to establish the first endowed faculty chair at the Berkeley Center for New Media with a donation of $1.6 million from craigslist, one of the most popular Web sites in the world. The donation, which will support research, symposia and lectures, will be matched with $1.5 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for a total of $3.1 million.
(17 January)

UC policy report says chemical exposures cost state estimated $2.6 billion
Serious gaps in existing laws regulating the production and use of hazardous chemicals fail to protect public health and the environment, according to a new report released Jan. 17 by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA. As a result of this inadequate oversight, chemical and pollution-related diseases among children and workers in California cost the state's insurers, businesses and families an estimated $2.6 billion in direct and indirect costs, says the report.
(17 January)

East Bay announces its 'green corridor' ambitions
At Richmond's industrial waterfront, leaders of UC Berkeley, four East Bay cities, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab pledged to join forces to make their region a leader in green research and industry.
(04 December)

A message from Chancellor Birgeneau on the Southern California wildfires
Chancellor Birgeneau extends UC Berkeley's sympathies and support to victims of the Southern California wildfires, and details campus support services available to students, staff and faculty.
(24 October)

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

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)

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

Study predicts positive net economic impacts of key health reform plans
A UC Berkeley study released today (Wednesday, July 11), says that two of the main health care reform proposals under consideration in California are likely to have a positive net impact on the state's economy.
(11 July)

2007 public health heroes to be honored March 23
The person who helped wipe out smallpox, a diet educator, a health care administrator and a hospital servicing the Chinese community are being honored by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. D.A. Henderson, Dean Ornish, David Kears and Chinese Hospital will receive Public Health Heroes Awards at a March 23 ceremony at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
(19 March)

Report makes case against Delta urbanization
Urban development in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta poses a major threat to the Delta's health and sustainability, according to a report released today by the University of California, Berkeley-based Delta Initiative.
(15 March)

Applications being sought for Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund grants
Local community groups are being invited to apply for the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund grants program. Applicants must propose projects that link UC Berkeley and community to improve the Berkeley residents' quality of life.
(26 January)

San Francisco firm will guide People's Park community planning process
The San Francisco firm MKThink has been chosen by UC Berkeley to guide a community planning process for People’s Park. The firm will analyze how the park is used by the community and campus and make recommendations to the university.
(26 January)

Conference to prevent childhood obesity kicks off this week
More than 1,700 researchers, educators, public health professionals and others dedicated to solving the nation's obesity crisis are meeting in Anaheim for the 2007 California Childhood Obesity Conference. The four-day conference, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 23, is considered the largest meeting on childhood obesity in the United States. It is being organized by UC Berkeley's Center for Weight and Health, the California Department of Health Services, the California Department of Education and the California Endowment.
(22 January)

Labor programs to link to noted labor leader, the late Miguel Contreras
The University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Industrial Relations and Center for Labor Research and Education – along with their counterpart programs based at UCLA – will become affiliated with an umbrella virtual organization named for prominent state labor leader Miguel Contreras.
(17 January)

California Newspaper Project — read all about it!
The California Newspaper Project is a long-running effort to track down, catalogue, and in many cases preserve and make readily accessible thousands of California papers that have rolled off the presses since the state's beginnings.
(17 January)