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Berkeley Online


No. 121 | May 9, 2008
News for the Cal Family Online Since 1994

Welcome to Berkeley Online, the monthly electronic newsletter from the University of California, Berkeley, for alumni, parents, and friends.

Cal Parents Edition

In this issue:

State awards UC Berkeley $20 million for stem cell research

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine this week awarded $20.18 million to UC Berkeley to build centralized stem cell laboratories on campus in a new biomedical research building, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, now under construction. The funding will go toward the construction of two floors of stem cell research labs and shared equipment in the new center. Slated for completion in 2010, the new building is being made possible by a $40 million lead gift from Hong Kong philanthropist and entrepreneur Li Ka-shing and other private and state funds.

> More

10 Berkeley scholars elected to top academies

On the heels of the Pulitzer Prize and Guggenheim fellowships to faculty last month, 10 Berkeley scholars have been invited to three of the nation’s top academies:

  • Two professors are new members of the American Philosophical Society, the nation’s oldest learned society. This brings membership from the campus to 37
  • Five were named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, bringing the total campus membership there to 227.
  • Three were invited to the National Academy of Sciences, which brings Berkeley’s total there to 132.

> More

Commencement season is here

Thousands of students will celebrate their graduation this month in department ceremonies, with the campuswide Commencement Convocation kicking off festivities May 13 at the Greek Theatre. At Commencement Convocation, graduating students and their families will hear from Craig Newmark, founder of the iconic craigslist Web site, as well as from University Medalist Leslie Chung-Lei Sheu. Sheu’s dogged scientific curiosity, academic success, and empathy for the downtrodden have earned her the University Medal, the campus’s top honor for a graduating senior.

Prominent graduation speakers this month include, among others, UNICEF executive director Ann Venable, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, playwright and film director Luis Valdez, and Richard Blum, chair of the UC Board of Regents.

> Commencement ceremonies

Bears beat BYU, 59-7, for fifth straight championship

The California Golden Bears blasted out to a 40-0 halftime lead and never looked back against Brigham Young University, taking the 2008 national collegiate championship, 59-7, this past Saturday (May 3) at Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium. It was the fifth straight title for the Bears and 24th in the history of the Cal rugby program.

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"Discover Cal" in May

Alumni, parents, and friends in Southern California are invited to talks on the 2008 elections. The talks are part of Discover Cal, the traveling lecture series that brings UC Berkeley's distinguished faculty to the extended Cal family for provocative lectures in an informal setting. They will be on May 21 in Los Angeles, and May 22 in La Jolla.

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Distinguished Teaching Award winners announced

Four professors in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and environmental design are recipients of this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award at UC Berkeley.

> More

Site of the month

> Golden Apple Award

The Distinguished Teaching Award isn’t the only campus honor bestowed on faculty for best teaching. Students have their very own top title — the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award is intended to recognize those teachers who “consistently teach each lecture as if it were their last,” according to the award Web site. This year’s recipient is Ananya Roy, associate dean of academic affairs in the Division of International and Area Studies and chair of the undergraduate urban-studies major in the College of Environmental Design. Roy is a veritable faculty rock star, having already won the Distinguished Teaching Award two years ago. Her Golden Apple Award lecture — her “Ideal Last Lecture” — is also available on the Web site.

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