Getting through Berkeley was no cakewalk for Jack McCauley ’86. His coursework was so demanding that after graduating, he vowed he would never again step foot on campus. Today, not only is he mentoring students and lecturing as an Innovator in Residence at the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, he has also made multiple gifts to support the institute.
“I’m a direct product of the education I got here,” he says.
Jack McCauley with an Oculus Rift
A lifelong inventor — an original toy design at age 9 earned him $1,000 in savings bonds from Tinkertoy — McCauley built a storied career in technology. His inventions include the specification for the Universal Serial Bus, the original scrolling feature for a computer mouse, and the guitars and drums for the Guitar Hero video game series. He also cofounded Oculus VR, which developed Oculus Rift, the head-mounted virtual-reality display.
McCauley’s drive to give back has always been tied to what Berkeley means to him. He established the McCauley Family Fund in Design Innovation in 2015 and made additional major gifts in 2018 that funded materials, equipment, and staff, as well as the Virtual Reality in Design program, at the Jacobs Institute. He even gave the College of Engineering’s commencement address this spring.
His most recent gift is allowing students to create new products with a 3D printer in conjunction with virtual reality tools, among other things. Synthesizing component products in these innovative ways holds great utility in such fields as medicine, design, and education.
“When I was working in Silicon Valley, the best talent came from Berkeley,” he says, noting that as a constant from one generation to the next.
