About the Builders of Berkeley
The University of California’s earliest benefactors set out to create a great public university in the American West. Inspired by the leadership and commitment of those visionaries, generations of philanthropists have helped shape that dream into the most distinguished public university in the history of higher education: the University of California, Berkeley.
The Builders of Berkeley monument honors the vision, leadership, and commitment of the university’s leading benefactors since its founding in 1868. The monument, located at the heart of the campus on the Doe Library Terrace, was dedicated in 2003. To be included on its granite walls, a donor’s giving has to be valued at $1 million or more in today’s dollars.
The university adds the names of new benefactors each year to the Builders of Berkeley monument, creating a living legacy and teaching future generations about the essential role that philanthropy has played — and continues to play — in making Cal the greatest public teaching and research institution in the world.
The first major gift to the University of California was an endowed chair of learning established as the Agassiz Professorship of Oriental Languages and Literature in 1872. Regent Edward Tompkins deeded 47 acres of land that was sold to yield $50,000 in gold coin, a gift that has grown to support four endowed chairs and is valued at many millions of dollars today.
Tompkins’s contribution demonstrated his faith in the university’s future and the importance of philanthropy in helping UC Berkeley illuminate a better tomorrow for California and the world.
Over the years, Tompkins has been joined by hundreds of other benefactors who have extended exceptional generosity to the university, ensuring the strength of UC Berkeley’s teaching and research.
Regent Edward Tompkins deeded 47 acres of land that was sold to yield $50,000 in gold coin, a gift that has grown to support four endowed chairs and is valued at many millions of dollars today.