In June, Berkeley's "genius" count -- that is, the number of its MacArthur Fellows -- went up to 23. Ishmael Reed, a lecturer in the English Department, became one of 29 national recipients of a 1998 MacArthur Foundation "genius" fellowship. Reed will receive $355,000 over the next five years.

Reed, 60, is a poet, novelist, essayist and playwright who has taught at Berkeley since 1968. The author of nine novels, several books of essays and volumes of poems, Reed is considered a driving force behind the publication of writers with multi-ethnic perspectives. His novels include "The Last Days of Louisiana Red," "The Terrible Twos" and "Mumbo Jumbo."