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Tag Archives: Robert Birgeneau
The most important stories in Berkeley in 2012
Berkeley in 2012 was filled with drama — a contested election, a failed nomination for a new school superintendent, a few missteps by the Chief of Police, and major changes at the University of California, among other events. Here’s a recap of the issues that had the deepest impact on Berkeley, plus a few fun ones thrown in.
City Government
The year got off to a tragic start with the untimely death of 37-year-old City Clerk Deanna Despain. She fell down the stairs of her Oakland home on Jan. 8. Her husband discovered her body when he returned from a late-night meeting. Their daughter was soundly asleep upstairs. Since then, Mark Numainville has been filling in as acting city clerk. In May, after serving as interim city manager for six months, the City Council appointed Christine Daniel permanently to the job. She replaced Phil Kamlarz, who had held the city’s top job for eight years. … Continue reading »
Tagged 40 Acres Medical Marijuana Collective, Belli Osteria, Berkeley nature, Berkeley Patients Group, Berkeleyside, Cafe Fanny, Christine Daniel, Comal, Darryl Moore, Deanna Despain, Jesse Arreguin, Kriss Worthington, Laurie Capitelli, Mark Numainville, Max Anderson, Mayor Tom Bates, Measure S, Measure T, Nicholas B. Dirks, Off the Grid, Perfect Plants Patient's Group, Phil Kamlarz, Robert Birgeneau, SEIU Local 1021, Sophie Hahn, Susan Wengraf
UC Berkeley names Columbia dean as new chancellor
Nicholas B. Dirks, Columbia University’s executive vice president and dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences, will succeed Robert J. Birgeneau as UC Berkeley’s 10th chancellor, the university announced Thursday.
Dirks is set to begin at Cal on June 1, 2013. Birgeneau announced in March that he would step down in December, but has agreed to serve through May, according to the university.
Dirks was born in Illinois but grew up in Connecticut, according to a statement released by UC Berkeley. He and his wife, Columbia history professor Janaki Bakhle, have a 13-year-old son, and Dirks has a grown daughter from a prior marriage.
Dirks taught in California earlier on his career and has family connections to the state as well; his late father served as vice chancellor and dean for humanities at UC Santa Cruz in the 1970s, and his mother is a longtime California resident.
“This is an opportunity I embrace with both excitement and humility,” Dirks said, via the university statement. “I have immense respect for the countless accomplishments of faculty, students and staff at what I consider to be the premier public research university in the world. I look forward to becoming part of the UC community and to contributing all that I can to the further evolution of a campus that is a beacon of excellence, innovation and aspiration for California, the nation and the world.”
The university’s Board of Regents will vote on the terms of the appointment at a special meeting in late November. … Continue reading »
Cal Memorial Stadium unveiled after 21-month renovation
On Friday, the great and the good of UC Berkeley unveiled the newly renovated Memorial Stadium, the result of more than 30 years of planning, $321 million in pledged funding, many feats of seismic engineering, and 21 months of construction.
The project encountered some unexpected obstacles along the way, not least the presence of a group of protesters who spent 19 months perched in trees on the university property in a bid to prevent their removal. “Very colorful, as only Berkeley can produce,” said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau recalling the episode. He stressed, however, that he was confident everyone will be nothing less than awed with the revamped shrine to Cal football. … Continue reading »
“Remarkable job” helps Cal navigate through tough times
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau lauded UC Berkeley’s continued excellence at the annual state-of-the-university press conference yesterday, citing its top five position in a leading ranking of global universities, the continued flood of applications from highly qualified students, the leading number of National Science Foundation fellows in graduate programs, and a flurry of other statistics.
But Birgeneau’s exuberance was tempered at his last start-of-term press conference (he announced he’ll step down as Chancellor at the end of December) by talk of the “unprecedented” disinvestment in higher education in California, and the threat of further dramatic cuts if Proposition 30, Governor Jerry Brown’s ballot measure to raise taxes, fails on November 6.
“The progressive disinvestment [in higher education] has not had as large an impact on Berkeley as we had feared, but it has had an enormous impact on the higher education system,” Birgeneau said. “It’s the obligation of the state and its people to support its public institutions. Education is a public good, not a private good.” … Continue reading »
Tagged Robert Birgeneau, UC Berkeley
Cal Chancellor Birgeneau to step down by year end
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today that he will step down from the chancellorship at the end of this calendar year. Birgeneau has been chancellor since September, 2004.
His term was dominated by both financial struggles, as state funding of the University of California system was steadily squeezed, and controversy over the handling of campus protests in recent years.
Birgeneau plans to return to his academic post in the Departments of Physics and Material Sciences and Engineering. In his message to the UC Berkeley community, he wrote that he hopes he has “at least one more truly significant physics/materials science experiment still to come in my academic career”. … Continue reading »
Tagged Robert Birgeneau, UC Berkeley
Criminal charges filed against four Occupy Cal protesters
Three UC Berkeley students and one professor have been charged with resisting arrest and other charges in connection with their participation in a Nov. 9 Occupy Cal protest.
Professor Celeste Langan, who became well-known after a video was posted on You Tube showing a UC Berkeley police officer grabbing her hair and yanking her to the ground, has been charged with resisting arrest and remaining on the scene of a riot, according to Assistant District Attorney Teresa Drenick.
Ricardo Gomez, Zakary Habash and Ramon Quintero have also been charged with resisting arrest and some other misdemeanors, said Drenick.
Langan, a professor of English, is scheduled to be arraigned on March 16 and the others are scheduled to be arraigned on March 21. … Continue reading »
Berkeley students march to protest public education cuts
Hundreds of students in Berkeley took part in protests Thursday against cuts to public education.
On campus, a Day of Action at UC Berkeley began with teach-outs and protesters wrapping California Hall in caution tape. Many Cal students marched to Oakland to join other protesters at Frank Ogawa Plaza from where a march on Sacramento is set to depart.
Several hundred Berkeley High students left campus at 2:40 pm and converged on Old City Hall on MLK Jr Way. There they listened to performers and speakers. There were chants, including ones calling for money for schools and against wars. Some students were dancing.
Lab choice may prove beneficial to Berkeley in long term
By Lance Knobel and Frances Dinkelspiel
In late September and early October, Dr. Jeff Ritterman, a member of the Richmond City Council, went down to Berkeley West Biocenter on Potter Street, one of the divisions of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Both times, Dr. Ritterman arrived before 8 am and staked out a spot in front of the entrance. As scientists came to work, Dr. Ritterman handed them a 4×6 postcard with a picture of the Richmond shoreline, signed by a resident of that city. It was a pitch for placing LBNL’s second campus in Richmond.
“I knew the decision would be important to (lab) employees,” said Dr. Ritterman, who served as head of cardiology at Kaiser Richmond for 30 years and became a city councilman in 2009. “I knew people had some concerns about Richmond and I wanted to reassure them and make an extra effort.” … Continue reading »
Chancellor apologizes for Occupy Cal police response
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau issued an apology today for police tactics during Occupy Cal protests on November 9 on campus.
In a recording made while en route to spending Thanksgiving with his children and grandchildren on the East Coast, Birgeneau said he took full responsibility for the events that day and would do “his very best to ensure that this does not happen again.”
The manner in which the police handled Occupy Cal protesters on that November night has come under scrutiny and attracted attention. … Continue reading »
Tagged Occupy Cal, Police brutality, Robert Birgeneau, Robert Hass, UCPD
Shaken Cal Chancellor recalls Kent State, Virginia Tech
[See update at foot of story.]
“Now we’re there along with Kent State and Virginia Tech,” said a visibly upset Chancellor Robert Birgeneau at the end of a press conference today about the shooting at the Haas School of Business. No students, faculty or staff were injured in the incident — the only injury was to the unidentified suspect.
The chancellor received news of the incident at his home, following a lunchtime meeting there. He had thought the main focus of the day would be the Occupy Cal protests. “We’re very pleased with the way the students have conducted themselves today,” Birgeneau told the press conference. “I have confidence in our students that they’ll stay focused on the important issues, which are disinvestment in higher education by our state and higher tuitions.”
But the first shooting on the Cal campus for over 20 years changed the tenor of the day.
According to UC Police Chief Mitch Celaya, there is no evidence that the suspect had any connection to the protests. Throughout his description of the events leading to the shooting, he cautioned that his department was at a “very preliminary stage” of the investigation. The press conference was held at 4:00pm, less than two hours after the incident. … Continue reading »
Cal Chancellor calls on Silicon Valley to help with funding
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said it’s time for corporate California to step up to the plate and help fund the university.
In light of the severe shortfall in state funding that UC Berkeley is dealing with, the Chancellor said he would like to see companies from Silicon Valley and beyond contributing $100 million to UC Berkeley — money that would be slated for students, such as for financial aid, not the university’s bottom line.
“Companies in Silicon Valley tell us we … Continue reading »
Biting the bullet: behind the Cal sports decision
In a sombre press conference this afternoon, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour and Vice-Chancellor Frank Yeary explained their decision to cut five varsity sports: baseball, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s rugby and women’s lacrosse.
“This is a difficult and painful day for our intercollegiate athletic programs,” Barbour said. “Cal Athletics is not immune to the effects of the recession and the financial realities facing this campus.”
Both Barbour and Birgeneau stressed the university’s commitment to … Continue reading »
Tagged Robert Birgeneau, Sandy Barbour
UC Regents consider online pilot, clarify admissions
At Berkeleyside, we get up at 6 a.m. (okay, more like 7) and cover long meetings concerning the future of higher education so you don’t have to. But we don’t mind! Because they give us free food.
Tuesday through today, the Regents of the University of California met at the UC San Francisco campus in Mission Bay to address the university’s admissions rates, its budget, and other juicy educational stuff. Here are some highlights and trends that emerged:
Online Learning: One of … Continue reading »
Tagged Christopher Edley, Robert Birgeneau
