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A Message from CAA’s Executive Director and Board President

August 14, 2017
AR_Letter_2016

Read the Cal Alumni Association’s 2016 Annual Report

The Cal Alumni Association (CAA) is about being a part of a great and enduring community, ensuring the future of UC Berkeley while honoring the past, and engaging the present. As we celebrate 145 years of golden fellowship, there’s no better time to be part of this wonderful community. We offer a common space in which to gather—a true sense of belonging for hundreds of thousands of Golden Bears.

CAA is committed to our alumni, our outstanding scholars, and the University. It’s what we do. We’re about fun, we’re about learning, and we’re about ensuring Cal’s future as the best university in the world—and we are growing! This year, CAA launched the Alumni Engagement Expansion initiative to increase our investment in the programs and services that support Cal alumni and students. Our goal is to enlarge the community of alumni who come together to forge new friendships with fellow Bears and deepen lifelong relationships begun during their time at Cal.

There are so many ways that being part of this vibrant community makes life better, richer, and more exciting. CAA awards nearly 800 Alumni Scholarships each year. Our scholarships play an important role in making a Cal education possible for these deserving students. We are so grateful for the many hours our alumni volunteers spend evaluating hundreds of impressive applications and ensuring that we continue to produce the world’s greatest scholars. In an era of deep budget cuts and increasing public policy challenges we are committed, as graduates of the number one public university in the world, to be a voice for UC Berkeley. Through the revitalized Cal Advocacy program, thousands of Cal alumni, students, faculty, and staff engage legislators at the state and national levels to fight for public education. Cal advocates are a diverse and vocal group who welcome the increasing number of alumni lending their voices to our future.

But it’s not all about fighting the good fight. We’re also leading alumni to adventure and lifelong learning through programs like Cal Discoveries Travel, where exciting destinations await the traveler under the guidance of knowledgeable faculty and experts. Closer to home, we’re building memories and friendships at the Lair of the Golden Bear—where generations of families enjoy camping at Cal’s signature summer destination or gather at the Pinecrest Chalet in the beautiful Stanislaus National Forest.

Our fall and spring seasons bring tailgates and Hoops Parties, where hundreds of loyal Bears get together to hear from coaches, eat, drink, and root for Cal. Current-events programs like CALIFORNIA Live! provide a lively forum to hear from experts and alumni who take on the most important issues of the day. Our award-winning CALIFORNIA magazine reports on the latest in research, culture, and innovation.

CAA provides ongoing support to hundreds of new and mid-career professionals through The Berkeley Network, offering professional-development webinars and an expanding program of opportunities to network with new and seasoned alumni from a range of industries.

This year we launched the first in an ongoing series of career-navigation events for alumnae, featuring some of Cal’s most successful women. CAA volunteers spend thousands of hours each year in an effort to keep Cal golden and stay connected to our extraordinary, world-renowned alma mater. We serve nearly half a million Cal graduates and support more than 80 chapters around the country.

Please join us. CAA is an exciting place to be. Get involved with your alumni community and find even more reasons to become part of CAA’s community of family and friends.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

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Clothilde Hewlett ’76, J.D. ’79
Executive Director

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Eric Mart ’70 President,
Board of Directors