Feb. 15, 1990. UC Board of Regents, on the recommendation of President David P. Gardner, appoints Chang-Lin Tien chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley. The seventh Berkeley chancellor, Tien is the first Asian-American to head a major research university in the United States.

July 1, 1990. Tien, 54, takes office in California Hall. He continues as A. Martin Berlin Chair in Mechanical Engineering.

Aug. 20, 1990. Tien sets a new style for the campus, donning a "Welcome Week" T-shirt and launches "Smooth Transition" to take the stress out of the yearly registration process.

Jan. 1, 1991. Cal makes it to Copper Bowl and defeats Wyoming.

Feb. 7, 1991. Reacting to first hints of state budget cuts and student fee increases, Tien vows to maintain Berkeley's "high level of academic excellence."

March 22, 1991. Tien inaugurated at university's 123rd Charter Day and espouses "excellence through diversity."

June 7, 1991. Chancellor's Blue Ribbon Panel recommends beefing up athletics and merging men's and women's sports, plus building new facilities.

June 30, 1991. In response to state budget cuts, UC offers early retirement incentives to a third of Berkeley faculty. More than 160 accept--10 percent of active faculty.

Sept. 13, 1991. Tien hosts West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at Convocation, awarding him the Berkeley Medal.

Oct. 18, 1991. Irish President Mary Robinson visits and is awarded the Berkeley Medal.

Nov. 18, 1991. Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori greeted by Tien, is awarded the Berkeley Medal.

Jan. 1, 1992. Tien cheers the California Golden Bears to victory over Clemson University in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Fall 1992. Freshman Seminars are inaugurated to bring well-known faculty into contact with new students. The small classes are a hit.

Jan. 1993. A new university health center, the Tang Center, opens.

March 25, 1993. Cal's men's basketball team advances to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 1962, but loses to Kansas.

April 29, 1993. Tien reacts forcefully to announced $31 million cut in state funds.

June 30, 1994. Tien is concerned but optimistic about third wave of faculty and staff retirements. Since 1990, 453 or 27 percent of senior faculty have taken early retirement. Though many are eventually replaced, the campus resigns itself to a permanent 10 percent decrease in faculty numbers.

September 1994. The central glade opens above the main library's new four-story underground stacks, linking Doe with Moffitt Undergraduate Library to form one of the largest academic buildings in the world.

Oct. 11, 1994. Berkeley receives its 16th Nobel Prize, the 1994 Prize in Economic Sciences to pioneering game theorist John C. Harsanyi.

May 6, 1995. The Haas School of Business, a $55 million, high-tech facility financed completely by private donations, opens.

May 1995. The U.S. Congress appoints its first West-Coast Poet Laureate, Berkeley's Robert Hass, professor of English.

July 20, 1995. Regents vote to eliminate affirmative action in admissions over objections of Tien, the UC president and other chancellors.

July 26, 1995. Tien announces record year in fund raising: $156 million.

Sept. 7, 1995. Tien announces Berkeley Pledge, a $1 million Berkeley commitment to a new partnership with California's K-12 students.

Sept. 12, 1995. The National Research Council ranks Berkeley one of the top universities in the country, with the largest number and the highest percentage of top-ranked doctoral programs in the nation.

April 23, 1996. Berkeley City Council approves resolution for a People's Park management agreement with the campus, resolving a 27-year dispute over use of the property.

July 1, 1996. Tien announces major gift from Cal alumni and friends in Taiwan--a $15 million pledge to help build the East Asian Library and Studies Center.