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Chancellor Dirks issues update on initiatives and priorities

Chancellor Dirks' report shows progress made and work underway in six key areas: improving campus climate, sustaining the research enterprise, improving undergraduate education, deepening global engagement, promoting the arts and strengthening fundraising

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Today UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks released a wide-ranging assessment of progress achieved and work still underway on key campus priorities. In his introduction to the review, Chancellor Dirks wrote:

“2014 was a year of great achievement for Berkeley, and as always there is a palpable sense that our excellence only grows each year. Through the link below I am delighted to provide a sense of the highlights of the past year, while also reporting on the work we have done on the pillars I laid out for the university when I first arrived and took on the great honor of being UC Berkeley’s tenth Chancellor almost two years ago. Academically, Berkeley has made significant progress around undergraduate education, the research enterprise, global engagement, and the arts. Berkeley has also continued to be recognized, in ranking after ranking (whether of global universities, departments, schools, or programs), as one of the very best academic institutions in the world. And, although we continue to struggle with the effects of massive state disinvestment, Berkeley is thriving in other ways, continuing to excel in research across fields, while attracting ever growing numbers of applications for admission, and steadily improving our fundraising capacity and performance, setting the pace among public universities in attracting donor-support. We have also continued to support and expand our role as a center not just of discovery and innovation, but also of entrepreneurship and public service.

“At the same time, this past year was a time when some of our ongoing challenges came into clearer view not just for me, but for our campus, as our relationships with the University of California system and with the state of California continued to evolve in significant ways. We also understand that there is still much work to do when it comes to improving our campus climate, and we have recognized the need to do a better job of building our ties to the many constituencies that make up our university community. As we strengthen our ability to tell the real Berkeley story, we are strengthening as well our capacity to rely on old and new partners, sometimes for the kind of support we used to receive more directly from the state. And the good news is that as we make these and other adjustments, we are working towards a future that we know will be even brighter than our past.”

For a complete look at this past year’s achievements and plans for the future, see the complete report.