Campus news

Media Advisory: Inauguration of Chancellor Nicholas Dirks

By Public Affairs

ATTENTION: Reporters covering education, local news
NOTE: Excellent visuals for photographers, TV crews

WHAT: Amid colorful processions, performances and engaging discussions about higher education in the 21st century, Nicholas Dirks will be inaugurated this Friday as the 10th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.

At the inaugural ceremony in Zellerbach Hall, Dirks is expected to discuss the current challenges and opportunities facing higher education and his vision and goals as chancellor of the nation’s preeminent public university.

WHEN: This Friday, Nov. 8. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m. and is expected to last until 5 p.m. Credentialed reporters and camera crews must arrive at Zellerbach Hall no later than 2 p.m. to receive special media credentials for the event. Bags are subject to search.

WHERE: UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, near the intersection of Telegraph and Bancroft avenues. Journalists will most easily access the media check-in table behind Zellerbach Hall by entering the area through Spieker Plaza. ( campus map )

DETAILS: Friday’s inaugural ceremony will begin with processions by some 500 members of the campus community, including alumni, faculty, administrators and staff. Faculty members will be dressed in colorful academic regalia. Dirks will wear his maroon hood from the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in history in 1981. During the inaugural ceremony, UC President Janet Napolitano will present Dirks with the UC Chancellor’s Medal.

Dozens of dignitaries will participate in the ceremony, including representatives of the UC system, members of the UC Board of Regents, several of UC Berkeley’s Nobel laureates, state and local elected officials, and community and business leaders.  Representatives from colleges and universities from across the country also will be in attendance, including Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, who worked closely with Dirks when he served as Columbia’s executive vice president and dean of faculty of arts and sciences.

In his inaugural address, Dirks will unveil his vision for UC Berkeley’s future as a great public research university in the 21st century, building on three themes that will underscore his first year as chancellor: undergraduate education, the global university and innovation in basic and applied research across all disciplines.

For more information about Chancellor Dirks or the inauguration celebration, visit the inauguration website .

RSVP: Seating is limited. News outlets interested in covering the inauguration ceremony should contact Andy Pino at andypino@berkeley.edu or José Rodríguez at rodriguez@berkeley.edu .

PARKING: Television crews wishing to park in close proximity to Zellerbach Hall should contact Andy Pino at andypino@berkeley.edu to reserve a space.