Photo of Alex Filippenko in a well-lit part of Doe Library, showing a simple model of the universe to two students

One teacher can embolden thousands

Support for faculty and graduate students can inspire generations of students and ignite transformative new lines of inquiry and discovery.

Faculty and Graduate Students: Igniting the Core

Stellar faculty are at the center of Berkeley’s far-reaching light — educating scientists, artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who will one day power our economies and shape our communities. While the number of undergraduates at Berkeley increased by 7,500 between 2006 and 2019, the total number of full-time faculty remained around 1,500. The campaign’s top priority is to add 100 tenure-track faculty positions and provide sufficient resources for them to conduct critical research.

Graduate students are the vital bridge connecting research to teaching. On one hand, they work alongside faculty to bring research ideas to fruition and reveal new directions. On the other, they are teachers and role models to undergraduates on the path to self-discovery. Yet competition for the most promising graduate students is fierce, and we often cannot match the financial packages some universities provide. Backing our priority to increase faculty is the goal to establish 300 new graduate fellowships — more than doubling our current level of endowed support and enabling emerging leaders to choose Berkeley for this crucial step in their careers.

Your investment in faculty and graduate students will ignite the very core of Berkeley’s excellence and secure our intellectual future for decades to come.

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