Dear Campus Community,
Welcome to spring semester! While the campus is quiet and learning is taking place remotely because of pandemic conditions, we are so very pleased to be starting another cycle of learning and discovery.
Tomorrow, history will be made in our country as Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president, making her the first woman, the first Black American, and the first Indian American to hold the position. We are particularly proud that she not only served as California’s U.S. Senator, but that she has strong ties to both the city of Berkeley (where she spent her early years) and the UC Berkeley campus (where her mother and father received their doctorates).
In other good news, two UC Berkeley faculty members – Janet Yellen and Jennifer Granholm – have been nominated to serve on president-elect Biden’s cabinet, as treasury secretary and energy secretary, respectively. And we are exceedingly proud of our alumni who have been appointed to key positions within the Biden administration, including Alejandro Mayorkas, nominated to serve as homeland security secretary and Adewale Adeyemo, the first African American to serve in the position of deputy treasury secretary. Read about them and others in this Berkeley News story.
Amid this truly exciting news, we are, like many others in our community, deeply concerned about the recent lawless, violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We are monitoring the local situation closely in concert with law enforcement agencies. If we receive information about any unlawful activities on or near the Berkeley campus, we will promptly inform the campus community. All UC Berkeley email addresses are automatically enrolled in the WarnMe emergency notification system. To receive campus-specific WarnMe emergency alerts via SMS/text message, you can register your mobile phone number here.
We encourage you to take care of yourselves, as we know that this continues to be a challenging time for many of our students and employees. Please know that we have campus resources available to support employees and students, wherever you are. Our caring, compassionate professionals are here to listen and help and can do so in person or virtually. We also know that managers and supervisors are being as flexible as possible to address employee concerns.
Wishing you all a happy, invigorating, inspiring, and peaceful spring semester.
This message has been sent to all UC Berkeley faculty, staff and students.