Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Berkeley Social Sciences launches comprehensive internship program to prepare students for meaningful careers

February 13, 2024

Berkeley Social Sciences launched a new program recently to better equip students for successful careers by giving them real-world experiences. The Social Sciences Career Readiness Internship Program (SSCRIP) prepares students for a variety of professions by offering skills workshops, personalized coaching, internship placement assistance, and stipends for unpaid and low-paid internships.

"Our responsibility towards...

MPS Scholars learn from the best: Berkeley alums

January 19, 2024

In October, Audrey Liddle joined dozens of students in Durant Hall’s bookshelf-lined atrium to listen to a group of accomplished alums share lessons from their careers. Liddle, a first-year student in astrophysics, was still processing all the opportunities available to her at UC Berkeley and beyond. Her future’s open-ended horizon could feel overwhelming at times.

“I grew up assuming that adults somehow had an ‘aha’...

L&S Author Interview: Noah Whiteman & "Most Delicious Poison"

October 17, 2023
Noah Whiteman, professor of genetics, genomics, evolution and development and director of the Essig Museum of Entomology at UC Berkeley, speaks about his new book, Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins--From Spices to Vices.

In this interview, Noah Whiteman shares his experience writing Most Delicious Poison, which focuses on the chemicals that plants, fungi, and small animals make to defend themselves from attack. He simultaneously explores how these intricate mechanisms found in nature have found their way into the human experience and our consumption...

Most Californians oppose cash reparations for slave descendants, IGS Poll finds

September 12, 2023

California voters are broadly opposed to paying the state’s Black residents to compensate for the longstanding harms of slavery, with opposition extending across party lines, according to a new poll released by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

The IGS Poll found that 60% of Californians acknowledge the deep and continuing human damage caused by centuries of slavery and the segregation and persecution of Black people that continued long after slavery legally ended in 1865. But strong...

‘This camp changed the world’: New exhibit tracks the rise of the disability rights movement and its ties to UC Berkeley

September 15, 2023

Summer camp is a rite of passage for many kids in the United States. Swimming. Arts and crafts. Long conversations in the bunkhouse. And maybe even some precious memories to carry with you for a lifetime.

For the campers and counselors at Camp Jened that experience meant even more. Jened was a sleepaway camp for people with disabilities that originally operated in upstate New York from 1951 to 1977. Amid the modest buildings and overgrown fields, the young people encountered something radical: a world that was built to include them, rather than ignore them.

That experience...

Author Interview with Sandra Eder: How the Clinic Made Gender

June 13, 2023

Sandra Eder is a history professor at UC Berkeley. In 2022, she wrote How the Clinic Made Gender: The Medical History of a Transformative Idea, a book that explores the history of how the concept of gender emerged out of the medical sector and influenced society. Eder was interviewed during Pride Month 2023 as issues surrounding gender expression and identity were at the forefront of public discussion.

What sparked your idea to write a book on this topic?

In my research, gender always played an important role, but I increasingly became interested in the...

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Establish a faculty mentorship program ●A evidence-based committee approach ●Web-based toolkit for mentors & mentees ●Networking & professional development events Foster a culture of belonging ●Train existing faculty in best practices for mentoring new faculty ●Promote networking ●Share materials across campus & UCs Evaluate, assess & improve ●Annual needs assessments ●Annual impact assessments ●Improve & iterate

Entrepreneurship For All: A Conversation with Umair Khan

April 26, 2023

Umair Khan’s mission in life, it seems, is to help budding entrepreneurs. “At Folio3 Software, I help entrepreneurs build out their products. At Mentors Fund, I invest in entrepreneurs. At Berkeley, I teach entrepreneurs. And at Zareen's, the restaurant which my wife established, I feed entrepreneurs.”
Umair’s connection to UC Berkeley began through outreach from the Institute for South Asia Studies. These discussions and interactions...