Subscribe to our monthly email newsletter, The Cal Connection.
While a new Associated Press report claims 80 percent of Americans are teetering at the brink of poverty, a recent study from UC Berkeley and Harvard indicates that a childâs chances of rising out of poverty might may be linked to zip code. The Quality of Opportunity Project  examines the likelihood of upward mobility, from a […]
UC Berkeley, of course, is one of the top engineering schools in the nation, an institution that neednât take a backseat to any peerâincluding a certain private university nestled in the San Francisco Peninsula. But thereâs one area where Calâs engineers and entrepreneurs have admittedly played catch-up to private, heavily endowed universities: ramping up for […]
Seth Holmesâs new book from UC Press, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States, released June 10, could well change the way you look at your morning strawberries. Holmes, an assistant professor in Berkeleyâs School of Public Health, spent a total of 10 months in 2003 and 2004 traveling with Mexican migrant […]
Has the Ugly American been supplanted by his Chinese counterpart? In the upcoming issue, California looks at the growing resentment in the developing world over Chinese business ventures abroad. It wasnât so long ago that Chinese engineers and economists were welcomed with enthusiasm by struggling Asian, African and South American nations. The Chinese were seen […]
Nothing is free, least of all money, so when Japan pledged $32 billion in support to Africa at the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, what were the motives? Are they any different from those of China, currently one of Africaâs biggest investors? Experts and news sources speculate that in fact Chinaâs increasing influence on […]
We contacted Professor Peggy Lemaux of the College of Natural Resources after todayâs Supreme Court ruling upholding Monsantoâs seed patents, and asked her about genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. She acknowledges the heated passions raised by GMO food: âIâve been involved in this since 1991, and the debate has remained essentially the same,â she says. âBut what […]
Rich Lyons, Bank of America Dean, Haas School of Business 1. After the release of this year’s Academic Rankings of World Universities, you Tweeted, “Berkeley among the top 5 university brands.” That caught my attention because the word brand wasn’t part of the rankings. Why add it? Rich Lyons: We use the word reputation a lot […]
Ideas are UC Berkeleyâs greatest asset. If only you could bank on them. The wolf may not be butting against Academe’s door, but it is sniffing around in the front yard. Money, especially for public universities, is tight and getting tighter. Although there’s no satisfactory substitute for public funding, many academics insist some bootstrapping is in […]
What would happen if we raised taxes on the rich? History may hold the answer. The recent “Occupy” demonstrators protest that the top 1 percent of Americans aren’t paying their fair share. But tax the rich too much and you risk stifling productivity, counter fiscal conservatives. Not true, say Berkeley husband and wife economist team David […]
Scharffenberger leads a campaign to make tofu cool. John Scharffenberger’s taste buds have been good to him. They guided him to success in his premium chocolate and sparkling wine companies, which he has since sold for millions. Scharffenberger established a U.S. audience for these gourmet goods in what had previously been a European-dominated luxury market. Today, […]
Are you overvaluing yourself? After earning a Ph.D. from Cal in 2001, psychologist Cameron Anderson found that his favorite projectsâstudies of social dynamics in the workplaceâwere transcending the arcane realm of psychology and moving into the practical business world. Anderson, who joined the Haas School of Business last fall, immediately set out to study pomposity in […]
Moneymaker or not? It sounds too good to be true: you pay your workers a living wage, avoid pollution, and treat developing nations fairly. And though these tactics will cost you money, you’ll still improve profit as workers, investors, and shoppers reward your social responsibility. Yes, it is too good to be true, says business professor […]
