Over the years, Tompkins has been joined by hundreds of benefactors who have chosen to support endowed chairs, recognizing them as an especially effective method of ensuring the strength of Berkeley’s teaching and research.

None has made a greater impact than the 2007 gift from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which was established by entrepreneur William R. Hewlett, his wife, Flora Lamson Hewlett ’35, and their eldest son, Walter B. Hewlett. This landmark $110 million challenge gift — the largest single donation ever made to UC Berkeley at the time — created 100 new faculty chairs and was completed in 2012. In all, the challenge brought a total of $220 million to the university, greatly bolstering its efforts to retain and recruit top faculty.

Other enduring programs aimed at supporting faculty include the Hellman Fellows. Established in 1995 by philanthropist Warren Hellman ’55 and his wife, Chris, this early-career fellowship program has nurtured nearly 400 junior faculty at Berkeley, many of whom have gone on to become groundbreaking leaders in their fields, on campus and beyond.

A $50 million anonymous gift in 2018 allocates $45 million for the Chancellor’s STEM Chair Challenge and $5 million for faculty recruitment and retention. The challenge provides a $3 million match for 15 equal gifts of $3 million to create endowed faculty chairs, providing a scholarly allowance to named distinguished tenured faculty as well as support for new full-time assistant faculty positions in STEM fields. Most of the $3 million matches have been made as of 2023.