 |
by Marie Felde and José Rodriguez The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, one of the Bay Area's leading philanthropies, has donated $10 million to the Graduate School of Public Policy. In honor of the gift, the school has been renamed the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy. The announcement was made at a press conference July 10. "This gift will bolster Berkeley's stature, expand our outreach and further cement our reputation as an exceptional school where public and policy have equal measure," said Chancellor Berdahl in announcing the gift. "The idea of good government starts with compassion and acuity-the two qualities that seem to be the prism through which Dick and Rhoda Goldman have looked at the world," said Berdahl. Richard Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda, both graduated from Berkeley and have been among the campus's most generous supporters. Through their fund, they also sponsor the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. "This contribution was motivated in part because my late wife, Rhoda, and I developed an interest in public policy matters while we were students at Cal. This led to our involvement in political and governmental interests over the years," said Goldman in presenting the gift. The gift will help meet the cost of improving the school's facilities on Hearst Avenue and will help to launch several new academic and public outreach initiatives. The bulk of the gift-$7 million-will be known as the Goldman Funds for Public Policy. The funds will extend involvement in the community and create new sources of support for research and exchange among faculty and students. The new initiatives to be launched with these funds will allow faculty and students to pursue critical projects-from local to global-that otherwise would not have adequate funding. They will also support an annual Goldman Conference and public service lecture, a fund for visiting scholars and distinguished public figures, and student fellowships and internships. The Goldman Fund also has contributed several other important gifts to the campus's Campaign for the New Century. These gifts make the Goldman Fund the second largest donor to the current campaign and among the largest donors in the campus's history. Expanding the school's outreach will be one of the key benefits of the gift, according to Dean Eugene Smolensky. "The school has been widely respected throughout its 30-year history; this...gift will mean we can become involved more deeply with the public and extend our contributions beyond the academic community," said Smolensky. He added that the Goldman name will give the school added prestige. "We hope, in turn, to bring future honor to the Goldman name." Associate Dean Lee Friedman noted that the Berkeley school will be the first of its kind in the nation to include a woman's name. The campus's Campaign for the New Century has now raised more than $600
million toward its goal of $1.1 billion by December 2000. |