Campaign for Berkeley

UC Berkeley hosted its second year of the Big Give Wednesday, a campus-wide online philanthropy event.

Raising billions for a world-class university is no simple task, especially when that institution is more dependent than ever on private support to sustain itself.

UC Berkeley is underway in advertising its newest online fundraising campaign, the Big Give, which encourages members of the community to donate to campus programs in a 24-hour period during the week of the Big Game.

Julie Hooper, former associate vice president for development at the University of Texas at Austin, began her term as UC Berkeley associate vice chancellor for University Relations on July 1.

As Cal Day celebrations drew to a close Saturday evening, over 500 alumni and other donors gathered in a white pavillion on Hearst Mining Circle to commemorate the success of the Campaign for Berkeley.

Nicholas Dirks was a bit apprehensive. A few months into his new role as chancellor of UC Berkeley, he found himself in a sea of strident blue and gold, surrounded by hordes of screaming students. Dirks was at the first Cal football game of the season — in the student section.

As Birgeneau's tenure comes to a close, the campus has achieved excellence. But the success has come at a cost, to both UC Berkeley itself and the University of California as a whole.

The University of California system raised more than $1.56 billion in private donations during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, a small drop from the $1.59 billion raised in the previous year.