Eric Schmidt M.S. '79, Ph.D. '82, Alumnus of the Year
Eric Schmidt M.S. '79, Ph.D. '82, Alumnus of the Year

Three alumni with Berkeley graduate degrees will be honored  March 24 at the Cal Alumni Association’s traditional Charter Gala, being held this year at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel.

The gathering will celebrate alumni accomplishments along with the 144th birthday of the University of California, which was chartered in March of 1868.

The association has selected Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman and former CEO, as the 2012 Alumnus of the Year. Schmidt earned his master’s degree in 1979 and his Ph.D. in 1982, both in electrical engineering and computer science. He had been CEO of Novell and chief technology office of Sun Microsystems before two Stanford grads, Larry Page and Sergei Brin, hired him in 2001 to run their burgeoning search-technology company. Schmidt is being recognized for his global leadership in technology and information.

Susan Desmond-Hellmann M.P.H. '88
Susan Desmond-Hellmann M.P.H. '88
Barbara Staggers M.P.H. ''80

Two grad alumnae will receive Exceptional Achievement Awards from the association at the Gala, both of whom happen to be in the field of health: oncologist Susan Desmond-Hellman M.P.H. ’88, who is chancellor of UC’s medical campus in San Francisco, and Barbara Staggers M.P.H. ’80, physician, division chief at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, and nationally recognized authority on the medical, psychological, and psychobiological needs of adolescents.

Five other alumni and one alumni group will be honored, as well.

More information on the CAA honorees

http://alumni.berkeley.edu/news/press-releases/cal-alumni-association-announces-2012-alumnus-year-eric-schmidt