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A crowd of some 3,900 in black caps and gowns, and 21,000 fanatically proud fans in the stands above, turned out at California Memorial Stadium for Saturday’s Commencement Convocation 2013. Apple co-founder and Berkeley alum Steve Wozniak keynoted the event, which was held in the sports venue for the first time in more than 40 years.
Education archive
Berkeley 2012 – the year in pictures 
December 19, 2012: New faces, new vitality, reflection and celebration — 2012 brought all that, and more, to UC Berkeley. Here’s a glance back at the year, in pictures.
Literacy award named for former education dean
December 18, 2012: A new award of the Literacy Research Association has been named in honor of the former dean of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. The P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award reflects Pearson’s life-long commitment to improving literacy instruction.
Share the Berkeley spirit, send a Berkeley e-card
December 18, 2012: From a new website created by the Office of Public Affairs, add a personalized message to an image from UC Berkeley, then share it with family and friends via email.
It’s time to submit apps for library’s undergrad-research prize
December 14, 2012: Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. The annual award comes with bragging rights as well as green: $750 for lower-division winners, $1,000 awards for upper-division students.
Special Anglo-American relationship to be studied in new program
December 13, 2012: Whether it involves Reagan and Thatcher, FDR and Churchill, or the colonies and the crown, the special relationship between Great Britain and the United States is generally known – but not necessarily well-understood. A new program aims to change that.
Nation’s single-largest gift for scholarships to undocumented students announced 
December 13, 2012: A $1 million gift from the Haas, Jr. Fund, announced Tuesday, Dec. 11, will provide scholarship assistance for nearly 200 undocumented students on campus, who come from 20 different countries.
To Berkeley civil-rights scholar, race is uppercase concern 
December 11, 2012: Civil-rights scholar john powell rethinks notions of race for the 21st century in a recently published essay collection, Racing to Justice. In a Q&A with the NewsCenter, powell discusses the book and his ambitious vision for the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, which he heads at Berkeley.
Media ethicist Edward Wasserman to become new journalism school dean
December 7, 2012: Edward Wasserman, an authority on the ethics, evolution and ownership of the news media, will become dean of the Graduate School of Journalism.
Gronsky to head new Global Engagement Office
December 4, 2012: In a CalMessage, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer announced that Professor Ron Gronsky will lead a new, centralized office to “facilitate and coordinate the campus’s international initiatives and to foster coherence among them.”
L&S ‘Big Ideas Courses’ aim to inspire faculty, students alike
November 30, 2012: According to Executive Dean Mark Richards, the concept for the program grew out of long-range plans in L&S to enhance the undergraduate curriculum. Big Ideas Courses allow undergrads not only to delve into important issues from multiple viewpoints, but also to fulfill their requirements in new and interesting ways.
An audacious mission in Africa
November 30, 2012: Patrick Awuah, who received his MBA from the Haas School of Business in 1999, went on to found Ashesi University in Ghana in 2002. His aim? To transform a continent through education.
It’s official: Nicholas Dirks to be Berkeley’s 10th chancellor
November 27, 2012: Nicholas Dirks, Columbia University’s executive vice president and dean of its faculty of arts and sciences, won approval from the UC Board of Regents on Tuesday to become Berkeley’s 10th chancellor. He is expected to take over from Robert Birgeneau in June. (See video interview.)
Regents approve chancellor appointment
November 27, 2012: The UC Board of Regents today (Nov. 27) approved the appointment of Nicholas Dirks, executive vice president and dean of the faculty for Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, as the 10th chancellor of UC Berkeley. Dirks will succeed Chancellor Birgeneau on June 1, 2013.
In conversation: Chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks
November 27, 2012: In a wide-ranging interview recorded shortly before the Regents approved his appointment, Chancellor-designate Nicholas Dirks talks in depth about his background and the values, principles and priorities that will inform his leadership of UC Berkeley. (See Doe steps video.)
Applications begin for integrated circuit online degree program
November 26, 2012: UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering is launching a new online degree program to help increase the ranks of integrated-circuit engineers. Applications are now being accepted for the Master of Advanced Study in Integrated Circuits, with classes set to begin August 2013.
Welcome celebration set for chancellor-designate
November 20, 2012: The campus has scheduled a welcome celebration for Chancellor-Designate Nicholas Dirks and his wife, Professor Janaki Bakhle, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 3:15 p.m. on the steps of Doe Library.
Freshman and Sophomore Seminars celebrate 20 years
November 16, 2012: More than 730 Senate faculty at Berkeley have taught a Freshman or Sophomore Seminar since the program’s launch 20 years ago. Through this popular program, undergrads explore a scholarly subject in a small-group setting. Faculty members who have not already taken part are encouraged to consider doing so.
Commission on Library’s future invites input
November 16, 2012: A newly established Commission on the Future of the Library has been tasked with assessing the campus’s renowned research library and creating a blueprint for services, staffing, technology and financial models in the future. Members of the Commission invite comments and concerns from students, faculty, staff and the public.
Yudof, chancellors express ‘relief and gratitude’ on Prop. 30
November 7, 2012: On the day following the election, the chancellors of 10 UC campuses, along with UC President Mark Yudof, issued a message expressing thanks to the UC community for efforts leading to the passage of Proposition 30.
Chancellor’s message on passage of Prop. 30
November 7, 2012: In a message to the campus community Nov. 7, Chancellor Birgeneau thanked members of the campus community for their work to foster dialogue on Prop. 30, which will raise revenues for education and public safety. He called voters’ approval of the measure a “welcome respite” from deep budget cuts to UC.
Yudof, in web chat, answers questions on UC’s financial future
November 5, 2012: UC President Mark Yudof held a web chat with university faculty and staff on Nov. 2 to discuss UC’s financial future, the impact of Proposition 30 and other issues.
Campus completes landmark Hewlett Challenge — more than two years ahead of schedule
November 5, 2012: The largest private gift ever to UC Berkeley — a $113 million dollar-for-dollar challenge gift in 2007 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation — has inspired a sweeping number of donations and led to creation of 100 new endowed chairs. The campus has exceeded its own expectations in completing the Hewlett Challenge more than two years ahead of schedule, Chancellor Birgeneau announced Nov. 5.
New GOTV efforts could help Latino voters achieve political potential, says researcher
October 31, 2012: Latino voters could realize their political potential with a few changes in get-out-the-vote efforts, according to a UC Berkeley political scientist.
Explore Bay Area Science Festival with Berkeley scientists
October 24, 2012: A hike the Hayward fault, hands-on lessons about what you eat at a local farmers market, star-gazing with astronomers — these are just three of the ways the public can learn about science from UC Berkeley scientists at the Bay Area Science Festival, starting this weekend.
Commission formed to envision Library’s future
October 23, 2012: A newly established Commission on the Future of the Library has been tasked with assessing the campus’s renowned research library and creating a blueprint for services, staffing, technology and financial models in the future. The 12-member task force, sponsored by the campus administration and the Academic Senate, is to submit its findings in mid-March.
BSA hosts Prop. 30 discussion Friday, Oct. 19
October 17, 2012: Campus staff are invited to Berkeley Staff Assembly’s Fall welcome event, from noon to 1:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19, in 60 Barrows. The event features UC’s “Onward California Mobile Tour” and an information session on Proposition 30.
2012 Berkeley Faculty Service Award shared by Deakin, Gronsky
October 17, 2012: Elizabeth Deakin, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning, and Ronald Gronsky, a professor of materials science and engineering, are joint recipients of the Berkeley Faculty Service Award for 2012.
Pedagogy of the obsessed: ‘Wikignome’ spreads the word
October 16, 2012: As part of a student-run course on online piracy, Kevin Gorman discovered Wikipedia’s potential as a tool for teaching and learning. Since then the UC Berkeley undergrad has become an evangelist for collaborative online encyclopedia-making, coaching campus instructors and students on using Wikipedia-based assignments to enhance learning and disseminate information online.
Survey shows program boosts Latino parents’ child knowledge, confidence
October 16, 2012: Researchers at UC Berkeley report promising results from a five-year-old parenting program, Abriendo Puertas (“Opening Doors”), which significantly helps Latino parents prepare their young children to succeed in school.
Freshman and Sophomore Seminars turn 20
October 12, 2012: Members of the campus community are invited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of UC Berkeley’s renowned Freshman and Sophomore Seminars. The reception and awards ceremony will take place from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 22, in the Alumni House Toll Room.
