Giving

As a postdoctoral physics researcher, Elizabeth Dresselhaus had found many excellent networking groups for young women scientists — but she longed for a structured environment to learn professional skills and strategies. So, when she received an email about joining UC Berkeley’s Shining Lights Program’s first cohort, she thought it was the perfect opportunity. The semester-long leadership development fellowship aims to help more...

Minoo Moallem was getting her master’s degree at Tehran University when the Iranian revolution swept the country. At first, she enjoyed new civil liberties, but as those were curtailed, Moallem left to pursue her Ph.D. abroad.

Moallem is now a professor of gender and women’s studies and the new faculty director for the UC Berkeley Initiative for Iranian Studies.

Over the summer, Kelly Ko loved taking the train to her internship in Taipei. The beautiful music that heralded its arrival was a refreshing change from BART’s jarring approach. At work, her managers would frequently take her out to lunch. Ko, who grew up speaking English and Cantonese in the Bay Area, was excited to practice her Mandarin with her coworkers.

Ko was participating in a six-person pilot program for Pan...

Starting this semester, UC Berkeley students can declare their intent to major in Korean studies. The program, sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, reflects surging demand across campus for a comprehensive and interdisciplinary evaluation of the Korean peninsula’s language, history, and culture.