Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,
When UC Berkeley’s founders chose Fiat Lux — “Let there be light” — as the university’s motto, they weren't just talking about the knowledge created in a lab or shared in a classroom. That is only half of the equation. The other half is the courage to carry that knowledge, that light, into the world’s darkest corners.
Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,
For UC Berkeley students who struggle to pay for food and housing, the recent government shutdown increased those challenges. Nearly 17,000 students lack reliable access to food, over 3,300 students encounter unstable housing, and more than 2,400 face both hunger and housing instability at the same time. Even though the shutdown has ended, their needs have not.
Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,
Nseke Ngilbus faced several complex challenges when he started at Cal. He was an older student, a transfer student, and interested in product design — a field he knew little about. “For me, the academics were not the most difficult part,” he wrote in a blog. “Instead, it was understanding the things that are outside of academics … the hidden curriculum.”
Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,
I have exciting news to share. Longtime UC Berkeley benefactors Ned and Carol Spieker have made a transformational gift of $26 million to endow the men’s aquatic programs. The largest gift in Cal Athletics history, it will provide dedicated support for years to come.
Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,
When KJ Muldoon was just one week old, his doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia diagnosed him with a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder that prevented him from breaking down the proteins in his food. If he survived, he would have severe mental and developmental delays and require a liver transplant.