I am honored to stand before you as part of a community that represents the very best of UC Berkeley. And just as the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) is undergoing a redesign of its leadership structure, so is California magazine. We hope you like it!
Having returned to Berkeley in February 2026, after two previous stints with Cal Athletics and the Haas School of Business, I was quickly reminded of why I love this place so much. Berkeley exists to illuminate, discover, and serve the greater good. Through teaching, research, and public purpose, it prepares each generation not only to succeed, but to lead, to question the status quo, and to improve the world. That mission does not end at graduation; it lives on through Cal alums.
I recently dusted off and re-read my old copy of Clark Kerr’s “The Uses of the University.” Kerr was the Chancellor of UC Berkeley from 1952 – 1958 and is widely considered the architect of the modern public research university. In 1963, Kerr described the modern university as a “multiversity” or a place not defined by a single purpose, but by many. A place that educates, that discovers, that serves. A place shaped by students, faculty, industry, and society itself.
We are the extension of Berkeley’s multiversity.”
That philosophy still defines UC Berkeley today as not just a campus, but a living ecosystem of ideas and impact. It is where knowledge is created, where leaders are formed, and where solutions to the world’s hardest problems begin. But Kerr also understood something even more important: the work of the university does not stop at its gates. Its true reach, or its true “use,” is realized through its people. Through all 600,000 Cal alums.
As alums, we are the extension of Berkeley’s multiversity. We carry its values into boardrooms and classrooms, startups and public service, in communities here in California and across the globe. We are how Cal fulfills its mission to educate and to serve. The question is not simply what Cal is; the question is what we will do with what Cal has given to us because the multiversity lives on through us.
Since 1872, CAA’s mission has been to advance and promote the interests of the University of California, Berkeley, by connecting alums to each other and to their alma mater. Alumni engagement is critical to advancing our mission. If Berkeley is, in fact, a multiversity, then alumni engagement is what brings that idea to life: connecting knowledge, people, and purpose far beyond campus.
As you are receiving this issue of California magazine, the Class of 2026 will be receiving their degrees from the #1 Public University (2026 ranking), and yet still finding challenges in today’s cooling job market. So how can Cal alums be of service? One way to help outside of annual giving, is through career outcomes. This can happen in the form of mentorship, networking, recruiting, alumni chapter events, and job opportunities—all services that CAA offers.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Lair later this summer!
Fiat Lux and Go Bears!
John Clamme
Executive Director
