A new school year at UC Berkeley means a fresh crop of brilliant students. But this fall, a new chancellor, a new academic department, much-needed student housing, programs to bridge divides, and sports for students with disabilities also are making their debut.
Plus, the campus is cheering the 23 medals won in Paris this summer by Berkeley’s Olympians, the financial aid office’s success helping families hard-hit in the FAFSA fiasco, the Golden Bears in their first Atlantic Coast Conference games, and campus robots created by alumni startups.
Although classes begin tomorrow (Wednesday, Aug. 28), Chancellor Rich Lyons was on campus last week speaking at fall convocation and enthusiastically greeting students moving into Unit 1. Dodging carts mounded with pillows, plush toys and clothes, he offered, “Hi, I’m Rich. I’m new here, too,” to first-year students and their parents.
Student Maegan Ponce from Simi Valley said it was “really cool” that Lyons said hello to her, adding, “He’s very personable.” Once a Berkeley student himself, Lyons posed for selfies, hugged mascot Oski, engaged students in topics including campus finances and innovation, and asked them, “Where can we take Berkeley together?”
During Move-In, Chancellor Rich Lyons talks with Unit 1 resident assistants Izzy Bakre (left) and Amyah Maze. They also asked him to pose with them for a selfie.
Brittany Hosea-Small for UC Berkeley
One of Lyons’ highest priorities is facilitating change in campus culture with new curriculum and programs related to civil discourse across political and ideological divides.
Examples of work already underway include projects funded by UC-wide grants that address bias and bigotry. Some of the chosen programs at Berkeley are the Bridging Differences program, the Berkeley Bridging Fellowship Program and the Berkeley Judicial Institute.
“We’re also creating new courses about freedom of speech, about critical thinking, effective communication and productive collaboration,” said Lyons, most recently Berkeley’s chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer and co-creator of Berkeley Changemaker.
“In a time of nationwide polarization, we want to equip students with skills to engage across divides and build bridges of understanding with those from different backgrounds and points of view,” said Lyons. “We have an opportunity to both embody and model a way of bringing people together that offers an antidote for so much of what ails our world.”