Campaign Passes $1 Billion Mark

Berkeley crossed a major milestone April 16 when the fundraising drive launched in 1996 crossed the $1 billion mark, bringing the campus closer to meeting its final goal of $1.1 billion and setting a record for university fundraising on the West Coast.

The $1 billion raised so far represents more than 335,000 gifts from alumni, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations. At the current rate of giving, Berkeley will exceed the $1.1 billion goal well before the Dec. 31, 2000 target date set by the Campaign for the New Century.

Berkeley's fundraising efforts are on track to match or surpass the most ever raised by a university on the West Coast: $1.269 billion by Stanford in its Centennial Campaign, raised between 1987 and 1992.

The Berkeley campaign is already making an appreciable impact on campus. New endowments, including 21 distinguished professorships, 46 faculty chairs, 120 graduate fellowships, and 243 undergraduate scholarships, are aiding the recruitment and retention of top faculty and students.

The unrestricted, $50 million Chancellor's Millennium Fund is helping Chancellor Berdahl restore the strength of the University Library, create Chancellor's Chairs for new faculty, and expand the K-12 outreach efforts of the Berkeley Pledge.

Perhaps the most visible signs of the campaign are the variety of capital projects, including 12,300-seat Haas Pavilion, which will open in August, and renovation of Hearst Memorial Mining Building and Edwards Stadium.

In the remaining months of the campaign, volunteers will focus on campaign priorities, including financial aid for students, the new East Asian Library and Studies Center, and updating the campus infrastructure.



TA's Unionize

Berkeley's teaching assistants voted in favor of representation by the United Auto Workers May 13, ending a long struggle for union recognition.

About 71 percent of the 1,590 eligible graduate students participated in the election, with 74 percent voting in support of the union. Most of these students lead discussion sections for large lecture courses.

The victory by the Association of Graduate Student Employees, an affiliate of the UAW, followed a successful election in April by a UAW affiliate at UCLA. The other UC campuses with TA's -- all except UCSF -- voted in June to also be represented by the UAW.



Alternate Mode of Travel

Mechanical engineering students labored through the night on their entry for the national collegiate human powered vehicle competition, held on Treasure Island May 1-2. Berkeley's entry, the "Bearacuda," won both the sprint and the road race in the tandem category, reaching almost 40 mph. There were 25 entries from across the nation, with Bearacuda coming in second overall in the sprint. Bearacuda enjoyed substantial media attention.



ATMs Now Dot Campus

Berkeley recently shed its distinction as the only UC campus without an automatic teller machine with the installation of eight ATMs around campus and two more soon. The ATMs represent three credit unions and one bank selected through a competitive bidding process.

The new ATMs are located at the Haas School of Business, Terrace Cafe (Bechtel Engineering building), Golden Bear Restaurant (Cesar Chavez Student Center), International House, Moffitt Library, Clark Kerr Campus, Faculty Club and Student Union. Two more will be installed at Pat Brown's Grill (Genetics and Plant Biology building) and the student union. The credit union ATMs don't charge for transactions by non-members.

The UC Police Department helped select the campus ATM locations and mandated the machines' hours of operation and security features, including video cameras, recorders, and multiple alarms.

Revenue generated by the ATMs will be shared with the campus units that house them.



Spring Sports Stats

Cal's athletic teams did particularly well this spring.

The rugby team captured its ninth consecutive national title.

Men's crew took first place in both varsity and junior varsity races at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Camden, N.J., while the freshman boat came in second.

Women's crew won third place at the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships, finishing just one second behind Virginia and five seconds after regatta winner Brown on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

Tennis women's doubles partners Amanda Augustus and Amy Jensen captured their second consecutive title in the NCAA Doubles Championship -- only the second doubles team in NCAA history to do so. It earned them a return trip to the U.S. Open. The women's tennis team tied for third at the NCAA championships.

Women's water polo finished fourth at its national tournament. The softball team came in third at the Women's College World Series with its best season ever, 51-22.