Inauguration

Celebrating Cal's new chancellor

Mary Catherine and Robert Birgeneau show their colors. Peg Skorpinski photo.

Spring 2005 | Cal families are invited to join the festivities surrounding the Inauguration of Robert J. Birgeneau as UC Berkeley’s ninth chancellor, set for Thursday through Saturday, April 14 to 16. The celebration for Birgeneau, who took office last September, is timed to coincide with the commemoration of Charter Day, marking the founding of the university in 1868, and with Cal Day, April 16.

Centerpiece of the weekend is the inaugural ceremony on Friday, April 15, at 2 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. The colorful event will feature Birgeneau’s investiture and inaugural address. (For ticket information, call 510/642-9988.)

The weekend’s theme is “Frontiers of Knowledge, Frontiers of Education,” highlighted by symposia on all three days, all free and open to the public. The first session (April 14, at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum) examines innovations in teaching and learning, and the second (April 15, at 10 a.m. at the Pacific Film Archive) looks at leading-edge research.

Inaugural events will also be a highlight on Cal Day, where the chancellor will speak at 2 p.m. Symposia with faculty experts continue all day on five hot topics: “Are We Ready? The Fight Against Avian Flu, Bioterrorism, and Other Public Health Threats” (10 a.m.), “Winning Elections: Why and How the Republicans Win” (11 a.m.), “A Socratic Dialogue: A Country of Immigrants — What Is an American?” (noon), “Working Women: Burnout, Babies, and Balance” (1 p.m.), and “Undergraduate Research: Nobelists in the Making” (3 p.m.).

For more on inauguration events, visit inauguration.berkeley.edu; for Cal Day locations and details see www.berkeley.edu/calday.