Berkeley adds racial equity chair

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 21, 2008 | by Matt Krupnick

The University of California, Berkeley, will appoint a faculty member to an endowed professorship focused on solving racial disparities in education, business and health care.

The university said Tuesday the chancellor's chair in equity and inclusion would be funded by $5 million in donations, including $3.5 million from Robert D. Haas, an alumnus and the former CEO and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.

The remaining $1.5 million will be paid by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as part of a previously announced agreement to fund 100 endowed positions at UC Berkeley. The endowments help pay research and recruitment costs for top faculty members.

The new position is part of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's push to address racial problems throughout society. He recently appointed astronomy professor Gibor Basri as the university's first vice chancellor for equity and inclusion.

Birgeneau did not say who he would hire to the endowed position, but said in a release the person would work closely with Basri "to ensure that equity and inclusion are defining and enduring elements of UC Berkeley's institutional fabric."