Light the Way: The Campaign for Berkeley

Volunteers are the heart of our philanthropic community — leading by example and stirring up Cal enthusiasm wherever they go. They encourage exceptional students to attend Berkeley, mentor them during their time on campus, and recruit alumni to their first jobs after graduation. They also encourage others to join our volunteer force and work to ensure Berkeley’s bright future. At the Alumni House last fall, three awards were given to people whose exemplary dedication has made a great difference in bringing forth the best of Berkeley.

The Sather Gate Young Volunteer Award honors the exceptional leadership of an alumnus who graduated in the last 10 years.

• Jarvis Givens ’10, M.A. ’12, Ph.D. ’16, who is currently a dean’s postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, was recognized for his work to shape Black2Cal, an annual networking gathering for Berkeley’s black alumni.
• Dave Madan ’05, whose nonprofit work focuses on urban and organic gardening, was honored for co-chairing the largest 10th reunion committee in Berkeley’s history. “I believe UC Berkeley’s alumni are a sleeping giant waiting to be awoken,” he said at the ceremony. “We have incredible resources to offer the university — through our networks, our financial contributions, our political power, and our time.”

The Spirit of 1868 Award acknowledges outstanding philanthropic and outreach efforts.

• Shawn Christianson and Phillip McLeod are proud Cal parents who have served in volunteer leadership roles since 2009, most recently as chairs of the Parents Leadership Circle, a philanthropic group. Both are practicing attorneys and have helped with everything from Move-In Day to Discover Cal traveling lectures to the “booster board” for men’s lacrosse.
• Noel Nellis ’63 was honored for 28 years of service, including two stints as president, on the board of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. He also has held multiple roles on campus, including his continuing work as an adjunct professor at the Haas School of Business.
• Jim Koshland, widely recognized as one of the Bay Area’s best lawyers, has deep family ties among Berkeley’s faculty and alumni ranks and serves as a trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation. At the event, he said that “to reduce the divide between the haves and have nots in this country, we need to have more lower- income young adults attend and graduate from college.… It is incumbent on all of us to be constantly evangelizing for public and private support of public universities.”

Finally, the Loyal Company Outstanding Volunteer Group Award, which recognizes a Cal Alumni Association (CAA) group, was given to the Los Angeles Chapter for its efforts to broaden and deepen Berkeley’s base of support in Southern California. David Smith, who accepted the award on behalf of the LA chapter, said, “Anyone who came to Berkeley is part of one giant Cal family.… A university doesn’t exist without the energy of its students, the expertise of its faculty or the support of its alumni. An alumni chapter doesn’t exist without its members And our family doesn’t exist without you.”

With the Volunteer Awards, the campus community celebrates those often unsung heroes and heroines of the Berkeley story. “This university is a treasure, and if we, in some small way, helped to polish its luster, then we are thrilled to have done so,” said Christianson.