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September 7, 2017

Sept. 14 Ben Shapiro Event: Logistics, Safety & Community Values
This is an important time for all of us as we work together to uphold our commitment to free speech and to our Principles of Community (link is external), including respect for the dignity of all members of our UC Berkeley community. I recommend that you consider viewing Chancellor Christ’s recent Berkeley Forum speech (link is external) and the Q&A that followed.
Our Title IX commitment remains firmly in place
The U.S. Secretary of Education today announced the intention to move away from the current Department of Education guidelines for how colleges and universities handle sexual harassment and sexual violence cases under the federal Title IX policy. Federal officials plan to launch a formal notice and comment process in preparation for revising their approach to Title IX enforcement.

September 5, 2017

We stand with our undocumented community
Today, President Trump announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—which has safeguarded many young undocumented immigrants from deportation, helped them fund their education at universities like UC Berkeley, and opened the doors to employment in the United States—will be rescinded. We are heartbroken for our undocumented immigrant communities. These communities include many of our students and families, who made the difficult decision to migrate here in pursuit of economic and educational opportunity; or to escape poverty, persecution, human rights violation, or armed conflict. This is a devastating step backward and a measure that undermines the spirit of our highest values as a university (link is external) and as a nation.

August 30, 2017

A renewed commitment to preventing sexual violence and sexual harassment on campus
The 2017-18 academic year marks a renewed commitment by the entire UC Berkeley community to the ongoing effort to strengthen our shared values; make our campus a safe place to study and work; and eliminate the incidence and impact of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and gender bias.

August 28, 2017

A Message from Chancellor Christ on Inclusive Community
I am writing out of deep concern for the multiple communities affected by the rash of violent rallies that hate and bigotry have spawned across our country. Like Berkeley’s Mayor Jesse Arreguin, I applaud the thousands who protested peacefully in Berkeley yesterday against such hatred and prejudice; I am glad there was relatively little violence and,like the Mayor, I condemn it. Questions have been raised about the specific measures we chose to protect our campus and community in yesterday’s protests. As with any event involving security on this scale, we will evaluate whether the steps we took were effective in protecting our community. We invite your feedback; our primary goal is the safety of the community and the exercise of the right to non-violent protest.
Campus mourns the loss of Chief Counsel Chris Patti
It is with great sadness that I write to share the news that Chief Campus Counsel Christopher M. Patti was involved in a fatal accident early this Sunday while bicycling in Sonoma County.

August 25, 2017

Sunday's Demonstration Activities and Resources
As you may be aware, on Sunday, Aug. 27, from 1 to 5 p.m., a demonstration called “No to Marxism in America” is scheduled to take place at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, three blocks west of campus. There also is planned demonstration activity the day prior, on Saturday, Aug. 26, in San Francisco.

August 24, 2017

Announcement of Vice Chancellor for Administration
Marc Fisher will serve as UC Berkeley’s Vice Chancellor for Administration beginning September 18th.
Print all Important Reminders - Campus Policies and Guidelines
As we start the Fall semester, we call your attention to the following important campus policies and guidelines concerning the academic calendar­­­, academic integrity, and accommodations for students in their academic programs.

August 23, 2017

Free Speech
This fall, the issue of free speech will once more engage our community in powerful and complex ways. Events in Charlottesville, with their racism, bigotry, violence and mayhem, make the issue of free speech even more tense. The law is very clear; public institutions like UC Berkeley must permit speakers invited in accordance with campus policies to speak, without discrimination in regard to point of view. The United States has the strongest free speech protections of any liberal democracy; the First Amendment protects even speech that most of us would find hateful, abhorrent and odious, and the courts have consistently upheld these protections.

August 21, 2017

Announcement: Dean J. Keith Gilless
J. Keith Gilless will step down as dean of College of Natural Resources (CNR) and return to his full-time faculty position at the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

August 15, 2017

Chancellor's Back-to-School Message
The beginning of the school year is always a magical time for me – a blank sheet of paper, the first page of a novel. You feel the excitement of all the beginnings that surround you – new students embarking on their college or graduate school years, new faculty beginning their Berkeley careers. It was in my first year as a faculty member here that I fell in love with Berkeley – a love that still animates me now.

August 14, 2017

Thoughts on Charlottesville
I, like so many of you, am horrified by what occurred in Virginia over the weekend. Today, I join with millions of others to condemn the reprehensible acts of the racist groups that brought violence and mayhem to Charlottesville and to the University of Virginia campus.

August 10, 2017

Appointment of Interim Vice Chancellor for Research
Professor G. Steve Martin has agreed to serve as Interim Vice Chancellor for Research

July 14, 2017

Announcement: Dean Rich Lyons
It is with decidedly mixed emotions that I write to share the news that Rich Lyons will be stepping down as dean of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, just under a year from now, in June 2018.

July 5, 2017

Announcement: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Paul Alivisatos will be Berkeley’s next Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Message from Chancellor Carol Christ
I’ve been thinking a lot about journeys as I begin my time as chancellor. I still vividly remember the first journey I took to California—across the country by car, the first time I had been west of Philadelphia—to begin my faculty appointment here. It was then, in those first months of teaching, that I fell in love with Berkeley—a love that still animates me now. I hope that my history and experience with the campus will give me the knowledge and wisdom to be the chancellor that the campus needs.

June 26, 2017

Campus Budget Update
I have just completed making the budget decisions for our 2017-2018 budget. Divisions (schools, colleges, administrative units) have received their letters and we will post the decisions on line at cfo.berkeley.edu (link is external), along with a FAQ (link is external) that we hope will answer any questions.

June 22, 2017

Announcements: Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion
Professor Oscar Dubón, Jr. will be Berkeley’s next Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion (VCEI).

June 5, 2017

Report of the Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics
We wish to thank the members of the Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics (TFIA) for their diligence and hard work on this most complicated of subjects. The values, principles, findings, and recommendations enunciated in the report are important; campus leadership will now carefully consider them. While the financial challenges facing the campus and Cal Athletics are urgent, the issues are complex, and we must be deliberate in making our decisions.