Social Impact

Ever heard of Fred Ross Sr.? New documentary chronicles the legendary organizer’s work

March 27, 2025
Lila Thulin

If you haven’t heard of Fred Ross before, you’ve likely heard of the legendary activists he helped train, like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Drawing on organizing tactics still used today, such as house meetings and voter registration campaigns, Ross helped secure pivotal racial justice victories, like the election of Los Angeles’s first Latino council member in 1949 and the desegregation of schools in California’s Citrus Belt in 1947. Born in 1910, he was a behind-the-scenes force for civil rights and labor organizing throughout much of the 20th century.

His life and work are...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/03/26/ever-heard-of-fred-ross-sr-new-documentary-…(link is external)

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

March 10, 2025
by Alexander Rony

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...

UCDC Student Spotlight: Raquel Lopez Blanco

December 4, 2024
UCDC Student Spotlight: Raquel Lopez Blanco (she/her)

Woman wearing dark shirt under a black and white blazer stands outside in front of University libraryRaquel (she/her) participated in our UCDC program in the Spring of 2024. During her time in UCDC, she interned with the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration, where she was able to better understand the immigration process through working directly with...

https://research.berkeley.edu/meet-raquel-from-ucdc-ours-spotlight/(link is external)

Haas Scholar Amber Griffin-Royal shares her experience as a re-entry transfer student with learning differences

November 12, 2024
Lily Barr

This story originally appeared on research.berkeley.edu(link is external) on November 6, 2024.

Amber Griffin-Royal (she/her) | Haas Scholars Program(link is external) | Summer '25

Woman with pink roses in her curly brown hair smiles at cameraAmber is a Haas Scholar currently majoring in...

https://research.berkeley.edu/haas-scholars-spotlight/(link is external)

“I will tell everyone about this program.” How Berkeley Social Sciences prepares students for meaningful careers.

November 18, 2024
by Alexander Rony

While some of her peers were relaxing over summer vacation, Eythana Miller was reviewing music and art exhibitions and conducting interviews for METAL Magazine. It was a dream internship for college students who, like Miller, are interested in pursuing a career in journalism.

Times Higher Ed ranks UC Berkeley No. 1 public university in U.S.

October 16, 2024
Public Affairs

UC Berkeley is the No. 1 public university in the U.S and the eighth-best university in the world, according to the Times Higher Education’s 2025 World University Rankings(link is external), released on Oct. 8. Berkeley has held the ranking of top U.S. public university for nine of the past 10 years.

This year’s rankings evaluated more than 2,000 universities from 115 countries and territories and were based on five criteria: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/10/09/times-higher-ed-ranks-uc-berkeley-no-1-publ…(link is external)

World Humanities Report, directed by UC Berkeley's Sara Guyer, warns of extinction risk to human knowledge

October 14, 2024
Sarah Fullerton

What role do the humanities play in a world challenged by climate change, rising authoritarianism, censorship, racism, wars and collapsed economies?

The humanities and their forms of historical, visual and cultural literacy are critical to understanding and addressing the human experience and the planet’s survival, says Sara Guyer, dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities in UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science.

She should know: Guyer is director of the prestigious World Humanities Report(link is external), a major...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/10/14/world-humanities-report-directed-by-uc-berk…(link is external)

Political scientists launch the Berkeley Center for American Democracy

October 8, 2024
by Alexander Rony

Americans are feeling pessimistic about their political landscape. Polls show(link is external) that US voters’ top concern involves political extremism and threats to democracy, eclipsing perennial issues like immigration and the economy. Last year, the Pew Research Center...

Two UC Berkeley alums awarded 2024 MacArthur 'genius' fellowships

October 4, 2024

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(link is external).

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

Two centuries later, performance spaces still struggle with ‘soft censorship’

October 2, 2024
Anne Brice

From the U.S.’s first Black theater in New York to today's Broadway stages, there’s been “a kind of de facto censorship” of diverse stories throughout the country's history, says Professor Shannon Steen.

Shot of dancers in motion from the Broadway musical Kiss Me, KateIn 1821, two free Black men from the West Indies — playwright William Alexander Brown and actor James Hewlett — opened what’s considered the United...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/09/24/two-centuries-later-performance-spaces-stil…(link is external)