Alumni

Life was turning around for Dean Tanioka in 2016 — or so he thought.

As an incoming transfer student at UC Berkeley, he looked forward to jumpstarting his academic life, which had sputtered over two years at an out-of-state private college. Returning to California was something of a homecoming for the former Los Angeles local. Stepping onto Sproul Plaza for the first time, surrounded by people who were changing the world, felt like a dream come true.

But stress soon followed. In an era before...

Technological advancements and ethical debates dominate the media’s coverage of artificial intelligence. AI pioneer and 1966 Cal alum Sarah Douglas asks the sort of big questions — on knowledge, meaning, and consciousness — that are often overlooked by companies and can only be answered in a philosophical context. Unfortunately, the rapid velocity of AI development has outpaced society’s capacity to consider these questions....

Production designer Nina Ruscio and casting director Cathy Sandrich Gelfond dish on designing “triggering” hospital sets, casting for raw authenticity and how their time at Berkeley taught them to watch life closely, turning every detail into material for an immersive narrative.

Ask people what they love most about The Pitt, the HBO Max medical drama that debuted in 2025 and went on to sweep the Emmys, and the answer is almost always the same: It feels so real.

The show’s pace appears just like an emergency room — lively and chaotic, always in motion. Its...

Across the country, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are being scaled back or eliminated altogether. From federal agencies, to Corporate America, to higher education, DEI programs are disappearing, creating uncertainty about what values and priorities will take their place.

As part of the launch of UC Berkeley Social Sciences’ new 5-year strategic plan, Vision 2030, a panel of Social...