Volume 5, Number 1 Spring 1998

Robert M. Berdahl will be inaugurated as Berkeley's eighth chancellor on Friday, April 24, 1998 at 10:30 a.m. in Zellerbach Auditorium on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the University of California. The theme for the inauguration will be "Higher Education in the 21st Century." A public reception will follow the inauguration on Lower Sproul Plaza. (continues)

Secretary of Education lauds Berkeley Pledge Richard Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education, praised the Berkeley Pledge as an educational partnership model for universities and public schools throughout the country during his Feb. 13 visit to a Richmond, Calif., middle school. The Berkeley Pledge, launched in 1995 to strengthen ties between higher education and K-12, has resulted in dramatic improvement in students' academic performance at partner elementary and middle schools. "Imagine if these kinds of partnerships were available in every middle school," Riley said. "If we could model this kind of partnership it could really make a difference." Expect a call for Parents Fund If you haven't already been contacted, you will receive a call this spring from a Cal undergraduate student to speak to you about the 1997-98 Parents Fund for Cal. You will be asked to consider making a gift to the Parents Fund which directly supports Cal's academic mission and benefits undergraduate student life. So far, more than $325,000 has been contributed to the 1997-98 Parents Fund. Last fall, students telephoned more than 5,000 families to request support for the fund. In addition to the calls, letter appeals have been mailed to parents so every family has the opportunity to participate by making a gift. The Parents Fund for Cal is one component of the Chancellor's Millennium Fund, established to provide the University with critical operating revenues. Gifts to the fund enable Chancellor Berdahl to recruit distinguished faculty, improve student life on and around campus, and ensure that Cal remains a viable, affordable option for all qualified students. The student caller - a classmate of your son or daughter - will describe the ways in which you can contribute and discuss what your gift might accomplish to benefit the undergraduate experience at Cal. Your participation in the 1997-98 Parents Fund for Cal is vital to sustain our thriving community and to maintain the tradition of excellence in higher education. For more information or to make a gift, contact Jennifer Cutting, Parent & Student Development, (510) 643-0415.

Charter Banquet honors alumnus Among the myriad Cal experiences available to you and your student is a very different one which might well become a highlight of "Cal evenings well-spent." Every year, the California Alumni Association holds Charter Banquet to honor its Alumnus of the Year. On April 24, the honoree is Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, a company which plays a defining role in most of our students' - if not our - lives. Also honored will be Chancellor Robert Berdahl, who will be officially inaugurated earlier that day. The banquet will be held at the San Francisco Marriott. Cost is $50 for current Cal students and 1988-97 alumni and $75 for all others. To receive an invitation, contact Mei-Mei Hong at (510) 642-1892, (888) CAL-ALUM or mei-mei@alumni.berkeley.edu. To prove to students that tuxes are not just for proms in their earlier lives or corporate dinners in their future lives, the evening is black-tie optional. The evening is particularly appropriate if your student is graduating in '98, but all parents and students are welcome (one does not have to be accompanied by the other). If you would be more comfortable, you can note that you are a "Cal Parent" and we will try to seat you together. Kofi Annan to speak on campus April 20 Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, will visit UC Berkeley on Monday, April 20, to give a talk on "War, Peace, and the United Nations." Invited by International and Area Studies, Annan's address in Zellerbach Hall will begin at 3:30 p.m. Free tickets for the event will be available at the Zellerbach Hall box office by April 1. Earlier in the day Annan will be at the San Francisco Fairmont, giving a joint address to the Commonwealth Club and the World Affairs Council of Northern California. Secretary General Annan will be accompanied by his wife, Nane, Assistant Secretary General Gillian Sorensen, and other senior staff officials. According to Richard Buxbaum, Dean of International and Area Studies, Annan's decision to make San Francisco and Berkeley the first stops on his first official visit to the West Coast is a recognition of the role the Bay Area and the university have played in UN affairs since its founding meetings here in April of 1945. In fact, at least one of the Cal guests specially invited to Annan's talk, Edith Coliver, was involved in the UN planning conference 53 years ago. UC Berkeley's involvement even reached to the design, typesetting, and printing of the original UN Charter in five languages by UC Printing Services at 2120 Oxford St.

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