As Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at UC Berkeley, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude on behalf of thousands of graduate students for your unwavering generosity and commitment to our mission. Your support has an immediate and lasting impact. Thank you! These are dynamic times for higher education. Economic shifts and increasing costs present challenges. Yet, despite the many pressures we have faced, our students have met these challenges with extraordinary resilience. Your support facilitates their continued resilience. It enables scholarships, innovative learning opportunities, and essential services that help our students overcome barriers and prepare for the impact they will make on the world. I want to share with you, our champions, a few highlights so you can see the impact you have made. UC Berkeley’s Inclusive Excellence Hub, a national model for graduate inclusivity, hosted its first open house, sparking overwhelming interest in its resources and programs, which fosters community, supporting graduate students’ unique needs. UC Berkeley’s sixth annual National First-Generation College Celebration Day lifted up first-generation students, faculty, and staff, enhancing graduate student support and community-building through events, resources, and collaboration. Our annual Grad Slam competition provides a quick snapshot of students showcasing their discoveries in a series of three-minute talks. PhD candidate Victoria Chevee’s presentation, A Bacterium’s Journey: From Guts to Brain, took first place! You can watch the recording online. As usual, our Fall Grad-Stravaganza welcome event provided a fun kick off to the semester, giving graduate students food, opportunities to connect with students from other programs, and a much needed break from classwork and research. I look forward to sharing more moments from our campus this year. Thank you for believing in our students and in the transformative power of graduate education at Berkeley. May you and yours have a joyful holiday season. Fiat Lux! Lisa
As Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at UC Berkeley, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude on behalf of thousands of graduate students for your unwavering generosity and commitment to our mission. Your support has an immediate and lasting impact. Thank you! These are dynamic times for higher education. Economic shifts and increasing costs present challenges. Yet, despite the many pressures we have faced, our students have met these challenges with extraordinary resilience. Your support facilitates their continued resilience. It enables scholarships, innovative learning opportunities, and essential services that help our students overcome barriers and prepare for the impact they will make on the world. I want to share with you, our champions, a few highlights so you can see the impact you have made. UC Berkeley’s Inclusive Excellence Hub, a national model for graduate inclusivity, hosted its first open house, sparking overwhelming interest in its resources and programs, which fosters community, supporting graduate students’ unique needs. UC Berkeley’s sixth annual National First-Generation College Celebration Day lifted up first-generation students, faculty, and staff, enhancing graduate student support and community-building through events, resources, and collaboration. Our annual Grad Slam competition provides a quick snapshot of students showcasing their discoveries in a series of three-minute talks. PhD candidate Victoria Chevee’s presentation, A Bacterium’s Journey: From Guts to Brain, took first place! You can watch the recording online. As usual, our Fall Grad-Stravaganza welcome event provided a fun kick off to the semester, giving graduate students food, opportunities to connect with students from other programs, and a much needed break from classwork and research. I look forward to sharing more moments from our campus this year. Thank you for believing in our students and in the transformative power of graduate education at Berkeley. May you and yours have a joyful holiday season. Fiat Lux! Lisa