Helping Berkeley’s athletes prepare for life after graduation
$12.5 million gift will launch new programs for professional, personal development
May 9, 2019
Cal Athletics has announced a new effort to prepare student-athletes for success after graduation with a three-pillar program of personal development.
The new program, called the Cameron Institute after donor C. Bryan Cameron, will push student-athletes to grow as leaders, develop their careers and find ways to engage with the community.
“We want to empower our student-athletes so that they are best prepared to pursue their dreams both here on campus and when they go out into the world having completed their academic work,” said Jim Knowlton, head of athletics at UC Berkeley. “The Cameron Institute will serve as a model for other universities who that want to invest in fully integrating student-athletes into the university environment and prepare them for their lives after college.”
The institute was made possible by a $12.5 million gift from Cameron, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Davis in 1980 and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1983.
“My experience with student-athletes is that many develop some excellent foundational skills for life, including a strong work ethic, discipline, leadership, teamwork and competitiveness,” Cameron said. “But they may also lack the focus, time and opportunities to best prepare for life after their college sports experience is completed. The institute is designed to assist these promising young men and women in identifying and pursuing career opportunities, at which they can succeed at the highest level.”
Chancellor Carol Christ said the program “significantly elevates our efforts to help our student-athletes fully realize their potential.”
The program is expected to launch in the 2020-2021 academic year.