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Dear Colleagues,

Chancellor Carol Christ and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos sent the following message to the campus community on Tuesday:

Chancellor Carol Christ sent the following message to the campus community Monday, December 21, 2020:

At UC Berkeley, where our motto is Fiat Lux, it is our duty to spread light, even during the darkest hours. I am pleased to offer my brightest wishes to you and your loved ones for good health and peace in 2021. I hope you enjoy this video message and highlights from this past year.

2020 at UC Berkeley: Sparks of light in a dark year (Video 2:54)

Chancellor Carol Christ sent the following message to the campus community Tuesday:

The Bay Area’s flagship public university, UC Berkeley, is trying to work its way out of an unprecedented $340 million deficit due to the pandemic. And that means some of the hardest-hit departments and individuals on campus are having to fend for themselves.

The campus has seen plunging revenue on several fronts, including $35 million gone in tuition fees.

Wearing masks, washing hands and staying physically distant from each other are still the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and UC Berkeley has just launched a new social norms marketing campaign to encourage students, faculty and staff coming to campus for work, research or school to do just those things.

The campaign, conceived this summer and organized by Berkeley’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs, offers a modular approach, providing units and divisions with an array of tools they can use to tailor the ads to their audiences.

UC Berkeley remains the world’s top public and fourth best university overall in the latest global rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

As it did last year, Berkeley came in fourth among public and private universities, preceded by Harvard, MIT and Stanford, with the UK’s University of Oxford rounding out the top five.

Columbia University came in sixth, the California Institute of Technology, seventh, followed by the University of Washington, the University of Cambridge and Johns Hopkins University finishing out the top 10.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ sent the following message to the campus community on Wednesday:

As we begin a fall semester unlike any other, I want to provide you with updates and new information about our plans, hopes, and expectations for the months ahead.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos, Vice Chancellor for Administration Marc Fisher and Rosemarie Rae, vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer, sent the following message to the campus community on Thursday afternoon.

Classrooms are dark. Residence halls are nearly vacant, performance spaces are suddenly silent and stadiums and playing fields are void of fans. State support is drying up and, while research continues, productivity has been tempered.

All told, Berkeley looks to be as much as $340 million short of its budget projections by the end of the 2021 fiscal year, as the university is facing a budget crisis unlike any before, campus leaders said Friday.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost A. Paul Alivisatos, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education Catherine P. Koshland, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate Division Lisa García Bedolla, and Chair, Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate Oliver M. O’Reilly sent the following message to UC Berkeley faculty and staff on Tuesday:

As you are all aware, the trend lines regarding COVID-19 positive cases in Alameda county, the region, and the state, show that infections continue to increase.

Chancellor Carol Christ, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost A. Paul Alivisatos, Vice Chancellor for Administration Marc Fisher, and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Rosemarie Rae sent the following message to the campus community on Wednesday:

The University of California Board of Regents today (Tuesday, July 7) announced the appointment of Dr. Michael V. Drake as the new University of California president. Drake will begin his new role no later than Aug. 15, succeeding current UC President Janet Napolitano, who will step down Aug. 1.

The former president of Ohio State University, Drake, 69, has vast experience addressing access and equity and will be the UC’s first Black president in its 152-year history and the 21st president of the 10-campus system.

CalPlanning Community,

The CalPlanning planner tools, CalPlan and HCP, are now available with the FY20 Forecast Q3 Submission version.

The CalPlanning tools (CalPlan, HCP, CalRptg, SmartView) are available with the 2020 April and May Actuals. The FY2019-20 Forecast Working version has also been updated with April and May Actuals. As a reminder, CalRptg is updated with Actuals on a daily basis.

VC Finance Colleagues,

As we prepare for the fall, the Chancellor and the People & Culture team have provided several updates around working remotely. Below are updates that address some of the most frequently asked questions from our staff.

How many students should live in each UC Berkeley residence hall this fall? What happens if one of them gets sick with COVID-19? What research should continue in a lab and what can be done at a dining room table? Which classes move online? How can the campus cut some $240 million from its budget?

And what happens if a second wave of the coronavirus spreads across the Bay Area?

Those are the difficult questions UC Berkeley leaders have been grappling with in recent weeks as they lay out a sketch of the plans for the fall semester.

Eugene Whitlock, chief people and culture officer, sent the following message to the campus community on Wednesday on behalf of the Chancellor’s Cabinet:

Chancellor Carol Christ sent the following message to the campus community on Thursday:

Today, a memorial service for George Floyd will be held in Minneapolis. As we acknowledge his senseless death, let us take a moment together to reflect.

Divisional Finance Leaders and Chief Administrative Officers,

As you know, UC Berkeley is pursuing Public Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for COVID-19 related eligible costs. FEMA provides reimbursement for specific emergency protective measures taken by entities such as ours to protect the health and safety of people and personal property during this COVID-19 pandemic. On April 10, 2020, we submitted the request for public assistance. Now, we are beginning the data collection process.

Chancellor Carol Christ and Oscar Dubón, Jr., vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, sent the following message to the campus community on Friday: