Alumni

The MacArthur Foundation announced the Class of 2024 MacArthur Fellows on Tuesday, October 1. MacArthur Fellowships, often called ‘genius grants,’ provide each recipient with an $800,000 stipend, a "no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential," according to the MacArthur Foundation website.

Of the five University of California alums selected this year, two are...

It was a March afternoon in 2023 and I was waiting on the fifth floor of Evans Hall. I don’t remember what day of the week it was, or if it was sunny outside. I do remember eyeing the history of Berkeley Economics on display in front of me. “1875 – Bernard Moses is appointed Professor of History. He is the first faculty member to teach political economy on the Cal campus.” Thinking of the Economics department’s roots in political economy and history, I hummed. What are the odds? I mused. And then, considering my own departure from the Political Economy department in favor...

Chaka Tellem is a class of 2023 UC Berkeley graduate who studied political economy with minors in public policy and race & law. Tellem will attend law school in the fall of 2024. His passion for advocacy and law grew from his formative years in Dallas and Los Angeles. Tellem was the ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California) student body president for two years, from 2021 to 2023. He is currently...

Berkeley’s Social Sciences students and alumni made a resounding impact at the Paris Olympics, securing eight medals in total. Their impressive haul includes two golds, four silvers and two bronze medals in sports such as rowing, discus, swimming, hammer throw, water polo, etc. Twenty athletes from Social Sciences competed in the 2024 Olympics, highlighting the Division’s extraordinary talent.

“We congratulate our Berkeley Social Sciences Olympians, who embraced the Olympic spirit of friendship and competition and gave it their all,” Berkeley...