Giving

UC Berkeley mourns the passing of Frank Baxter

July 18, 2025

The former ambassador, philanthropist and businessman was a champion of UC Berkeley students in need and of a free and open exchange of ideas on campus.

[Originally published on...

“I was totally hooked:” How astrophysics changed Andrea Antoni’s life

July 17, 2025

Andrea Antoni didn’t take a traditional path to graduate school — if one exists for computational astrophysicists. On her last day of high school, she gave birth and became a single, working mother.

While volunteering at her child’s school, she met other mothers who worked in computer science and electrical engineering. She felt those careers represented practical ways to get an education and earn money. So, in her 30s...

A college internship changed Henry Sohn’s life. He’s now helping Berkeley students secure their own.

July 15, 2025

Henry Sohn didn’t know what he wanted to do in college. At first, he was considering medical school, but an eye-opening hospital experience and a serendipitous internship at Apple altered the course of his life. Taking two breaks from UC Berkeley, Sohn ultimately completed his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1992.

It was a good time to enter the Bay Area’s tech scene. Sohn leveraged his Apple internship into jobs at...

From Senegal to Uzbekistan, a rare opportunity for U.S. students to experience international art

June 26, 2025

UC Berkeley’s influence traverses the globe, and thanks to the Judith Stronach Travel Seminar, its creative scholars can as well.

This past November, art history professors Zamansele Nsele and Ivy Mills led a group of six graduate students to Senegal for an immersive, nine-day trip to the 2024 Dak'Art Biennale — a major art exhibition that showcases contemporary African art every other year.

Leinweber Foundation and UC Berkeley establish $18 million endowment to fund theoretical physics research

May 28, 2025

The University of California, Berkeley, a world leader in theoretical physics since J. Robert Oppenheimer planted the seed nearly 100 years ago, will share with four other institutions the largest gift ever to the field — $90 million.

The gift from the Leinweber Foundation in Michigan will establish four Leinweber Institutes for Theoretical Physics at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Berkeley, and the Leinweber Forum for Theoretical and Quantum...

Leon Litwack honored with new speaker series

January 31, 2025

UC Berkeley’s Department of History is recognizing one of its most beloved professors with a new speaker series devoted to African American history. The series extends the legacy of Leon Litwack, a trailblazing scholar who taught generations of students to peer behind the curtain of whitewashed narratives and learn difficult truths about their country’s past.

Few areas of scholarship are as contentious — and...

WILC Co-Chair Cynthia Larsen: “It's all about finding your passion and purpose”

March 18, 2025

Cynthia Larsen ’88 J.D. ’91 is a big Cal fan. The former teacher and current academic support director met her husband at a punk show at Cal, and the couple named their daughter after architect and famous alum Julia Morgan.

When Larsen returned to the Bay Area from living in Virginia for 25 years, one of the first things she did was reconnect with UC Berkeley. This connection led Larsen to join and eventually co-chair...

Haskell Wong family recognizes UC Berkeley’s rich history in the disability rights movement with new endowment

March 10, 2025

UC Berkeley has a new endowment for its disability studies program thanks to a family of alums. The Haskell Wong Endowment for Disability Studies will be seeded with $900,000 to expand instruction and research.

The endowment will ultimately provide tens of thousands of dollars for the program every year, inspiring future generations to engage in disability studies and advocacy. In addition, the family pledged $100,000...

L&S Shines Bright in Big Give 2025

March 17, 2025

Blue graphic with yellow stars, copy says Big Thanks! BigGive.berkeley.edu #CalBigGive

Thanks to the boundless generosity of our community, Berkeley Letters & Science raised $1,855,851 from 2,089 donors during this year's Big Give fundraiser! We are deeply grateful to everyone who participated and cheered us on along the way. Your...

UC Berkeley Awarded $2.6 Million Grant for “A Counter-Imaginary in Authoritarian Times”

December 20, 2024

Berkeley, CA UC Berkeley’s Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry (CICI) and the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs (ICCTP) have been awarded $2.6 million to support a groundbreaking multi-year initiative titled “A Counter-Imaginary in Authoritarian Times.” Through collaborative workshops, conferences, performances, publications, and a dynamic, open-ended digital platform, this project brings together academics, artists, activists, and other community members to develop concrete strategies, tools, and proposals to create a counter-...