Nicholas B. Dirks, June 2013 - present
NICHOLAS B. DIRKS became the 10th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley on June 1, 2013. An internationally renowned historian and anthropologist, he is a leader in higher education and well-known for his commitment to and advocacy for accessible, high-quality undergraduate education in the liberal arts and sciences.
Before coming to Berkeley, he was the executive vice president for the arts and sciences and dean of the faculty at Columbia University, where, in addition to his work on behalf of undergraduate programs, he improved and diversified the faculty, putting special emphasis on interdisciplinary and international initiatives. The Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and History, Dirks joined Columbia in 1997 as chair of the anthropology department. Prior to his appointment at Columbia, he was a professor of history and anthropology at the University of Michigan for 10 years, before which he taught Asian history and civilization at the California Institute of Technology.
Robert J. Birgeneau, Sept. 2004 - May 2013
Robert
J. Birgeneau served as UC Berkeley's chancellor from Sept.
2004 through May 2013. Immediately prior, the Toronto
native served as president of the University of Toronto for four
years. Birgeneau received his BSc in mathematics from the University
of Toronto in 1963 and his PhD in physics from Yale University
in 1966. He was on the Yale faculty for one year and then
spent a year at Oxford University. Birgeneau was a member of the
technical staff at Bell Laboratories from 1968 to 1975, then joined
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a professor of physics.
In his 25 years at MIT, he served as chair of the physics department
and later as dean of science; he is one of the most
highly cited physicists in the world.
Robert M. Berdahl, 1997-2004
As
chancellor, Robert M. Berdahl (1937- ) oversaw an unprecedented
rebuilding and seismic renovation of the campus, helped the University
Library regain its national preeminence, and undertook significant
planning for academic programs and facilities, to guide campus
enrollment growth and expansion into emerging fields of scholarship
and research. During Berdahl's tenure, nearly $900 million in campus
retrofits and renovations were completed or launched. This included
major work on Barrows, Barker, Hildebrand, and Wurster Halls, Hearst
Memorial Mining Building, Doe Library, Goldman School of Public
Policy, Silver Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley Art Museum,
Haas Pavilion, Hargrove Music Library, the Stanley Biosciences
and Bioengineering Facility, and student housing. Berdahl reorganized
campus leadership to improve undergraduate education, and supported
the creation of substantial new research efforts in the health
sciences, information technology, and quantitative biomedicine.
He also oversaw the greatest growth in private philanthropy in
the University's history.
- Biography
- Robert M. Berdahl's website
- Looking back at the Berdahl years
- Timeline of the Berdahl years at Berkeley
- Farewell remarks Charter Day 2004
Chang-Lin Tien, 1990-1997
An
outspoken voice for equal opportunity in higher education, Chang-Lin
Tien (1935-2002) set the motto of "Excellence through Diversity" for
Berkeley. He succeeded in preserving the campus's preeminence despite
a multi-year state budget crisis and the loss of 27 percent of
the faculty to early retirement incentives. He was also challenged
to preserve diversity in the face of affirmative- action bans by
the Regents and, soon after, by California voters. A mechanical
engineer who spent most of his career at Berkeley, Tien was a national
leader in higher education and a much-loved figure on campus for
his energy, enthusiasm, and regard for students. The first Asian
American to head a major research university, Tien embraced and
extended Berkeley's ties to Pacific Rim nations, fostering new
programs, academic endeavors, and financial donations to the campus.
He launched Berkeley's second capital campaign — which
ultimately raised $1.44 billion — and
oversaw the completion of the Haas School of Business, the Gardiner
Stacks of Doe Library, Soda Hall, and the University Health Service's
Tang Center.
- Biography
- Remembrances Oct. 30, 2002
- Timeline of the Tien years at Berkeley
- Chang-Lin Tien Center for East Asian Studies
Ira Michael Heyman, 1980-1990
The decade of Ira Michael Heyman's (1930-2011) campus leadership saw a dramatic increase in the number of undergraduate students of color — from 21 percent of the student body in 1980 to 57 percent in 1990 — a change that Heyman said was a "service" to California higher education. His tenure also included a major effort to replace aging research facilities, especially in the life sciences. Academic programs in the biosciences were restructured to reflect and foster new fields in biology and biotechnology, and four bioscience buildings were completed or begun during the decade: the Life Sciences Addition, renovation of the Valley Life Sciences Building, Koshland Hall, and the Genetics and Plant Biology Building. In addition, construction of the Foothill Student Housing and the Recreational Sports Facility enhanced student life during the Heyman years. As state budgets for the University continued to shrink, Heyman led an effort that tripled private giving to the campus.
- Biography
- Conversations with History Aug. 1, 2000
- Profile and home page
Albert H. Bowker, 1971-1980
Albert
H. Bowker (1919-2008) came to Berkeley to become chancellor after
a career on the mathematics and statistics faculty at Stanford
University and then eight years as chancellor of the City University
of New York. His years as Berkeley's chancellor were marked by
tightening budgets for the state and the University, leading Bowker
to establish the UC Berkeley Foundation and the beginnings of a
major fund-raising program for the campus. Private funds were raised
for the Bechtel Engineering Center and an addition to Minor Hall,
the optometry building. His term also saw the creation of Women's
Intercollegiate Athletics as a separate department, parallel to
the men's sports program. In 1973 Bowker drafted a report to the
Regents entitled "Berkeley
in a Steady State," outlined a model for renewing campus facilities,
called for student participation in Chancellor's advisory committees,
and discussed issues facing the campus in light of a new era of
reduced state budgets.
Roger W. Heyns, 1965-1971
A
psychologist from the University of Michigan, Roger W. Heyns (1918-1995)
came to Berkeley as chancellor "like a gift from heaven," in
the words of President Clark Kerr. He set goals to reestablish
the credibility of campus leadership, assure that political activities
did not interfere with teaching and research, strengthen campus
staff, and improve students' educational experience.
A tireless advocate for undergraduate education, he established
the office of the student ombudsman and the Educational Opportunity
Program, one of the nation's first student affirmative-action programs.
Also during his tenure, the Graduate School of Public Policy was
established and work was completed on Moffitt Undergraduate Library,
the Space Sciences Laboratory, and the University Art Museum. Heyns
was also the first chancellor to live on campus in University House.
- Biography
- Obituary
- In memoriam 1995
Martin E. Meyerson, 1965 (acting)
Martin
E. Meyerson (1922-2007) served as acting chancellor for six months,
following the turbulent months of the Free Speech Movement and
the resignation of Chancellor Edward Strong. He had a distinguished
career at the University of Chicago, Yale University, and the University
of Pennsylvania before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1963 as
dean of the College of Environmental Design. As acting chancellor,
he aided efforts to promote more effective teaching and to improve
relationships among students, faculty, and administrators in the
wake of the FSM.
- Obituary June 2, 2007
Edward W. Strong, 1961-1965
A
sociologist and philosopher, Edward W. Strong (1901-1990) served
in a variety of academic posts on the Berkeley campus — from
chair of two departments to vice chancellor for academic affairs — before
becoming chancellor. During his tenure he helped secure major donations
for improvements to International House and to augment the collection
of the Bancroft Library. He also saw the completion of Latimer,
Barrows, Wurster and Etcheverry Halls. His administration's
achievements were overshadowed by the Free Speech Movement, in
fall 1964, which brought with it three months of student unrest and
campus disruption and led to Strong's resignation in 1965.
Glenn T. Seaborg, 1958-1961
Nobel
laureate Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999), one of the great chemists
of the 20th century, served three years as chancellor, overseeing
a period of steady enrollment growth, the beginning of planning
for the Lawrence Hall of Science, and creation of the Department
of Intercollegiate Athletics. As a scientist, he co-discovered
plutonium-238 and -239, as well as nine other elements beyond
uranium in the periodic table, including element 106, seaborgium.
He was an influential adviser on national science policy to 10
U.S. presidents; he left the chancellorship when President Kennedy
appointed him chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, a post he
held from 1961 to 1971.
- Biography | Seaborg's life and contributions
- Obituary Feb. 25, 1999
Clark Kerr, 1952-1958
UC
Berkeley's first chancellor, Clark Kerr (1911-2003) guided the
campus during an era of intense planning and growth that helped
build its reputation as a major research university, and laid the
groundwork for core student services. Kerr launched planning for
spaces that would become the heart of the campus, among them student
housing, the student union and dining commons, and Zellerbach Hall.
As president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967,
he was chief architect of the master plan that has guided California
public higher education since 1960 and remains a national model.
Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl called him "the father of the modern
University of California."