At the heart of campuswide efforts to strengthen diversity is the work being done at the Division of Equity and Inclusion, which the university launched in 2010 with support from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. The fund continues to support a variety of campus programs aimed at diversifying the student body and improving the experiences of historically underrepresented students.

For over a decade, benefactors have been stepping up for Berkeley Connect, which provides a sense of belonging and the promotion of success for all. The program partners with 15 departments and is open to all majors, serving 1,200 or more students each semester. Undergraduates receive personalized mentoring, while graduate students that work with them grow skills in community building. It all started in 2010 when alum Peter Chernin ’73 created a three-year community-building pilot in the Department of English.

Donors also have invested in the Berkeley Discovery Initiative, which offers undergraduates the opportunity to participate firsthand in research, creative expression, and other extracurricular experiences. Discovery classes help undergraduates become aware of the rich and varied resources available to them at Berkeley. The program culminates with a project that reflects a blend of academic and personal interests: artistic creations, business plans, community-engaged service or original research.

One of the investments of benefactors that has been life-changing for Berkeley students is increased support for the Basic Needs Center, which provides short-term emergency relief and long-term support services that include food and housing security. The center helps ensure better equity of experience for all students. Because of these commitments, the center launched the Undocumented Student Basic Needs Equity Grants. Meanwhile, the Basic Needs Holistic Fund provides a single point of entry for students to apply for emergency assistance.

Bob and Colleen Haas continue to provide underserved students the opportunity to achieve their higher education goals through myriad scholarship programs. Their generous gifts support high-achieving DACA students through the Undocumented Students Program. Mimi Haas continues to support the Peter E. Haas Public Service Leaders program, which awards scholarships to undergraduate student leaders from underrepresented backgrounds who have demonstrated a significant commitment to off-campus public service.

Jon Stryker ’89, an alum of the College of Environmental Design (CED), made a gift that will make a difference for about 100 students over the course of a four-year program.

The Arcus Social Justice Corps offers fellowships to CED students who devote at least three years of their careers to social impact work. The gift helps to launch public service careers, create a deeper sense of belonging, and bolster CED’s commitment to social justice in environmental design.

Builders Steve and Margot Kerr have partnered with the campus’s African American Initiative, a comprehensive effort to address underrepresentation of African Americans among students, faculty, and staff. The Kerrs’ support expands the counseling staff for Berkeley’s Educational Opportunity Program and establishes an annual scholarship for first-generation college students.