Building renaming honors Maslachs

By D. Lyn Hunter, Public Affairs

George and Doris Maslach unveil the name of the dorm the university named for them on the Clark Kerr campus. The couple was honored for their decades of service to Berkeley. Peg Skorpinski photo

06 September 2001 | The Clark Kerr Campus hall known for 20 years simply as Building No. 8 got a new name last week — George and Doris Cuneo Maslach Hall — in honor of the couple’s decades of service to the campus.

At the Aug. 30 ceremony, Chancellor Berdahl, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Gray, and other members of the campus community paid tribute to the Maslachs outside the mission-style residence hall that is home to nearly 70 undergraduates.

“George and Doris Maslach have been very much a part of the life of this university and this community,” said Chancellor Berdahl. “The building named in their honor reminds us that it is this ‘life’ force that we treasure and seek to honor.”

The Maslachs’ daughter, Christina, vice provost for undergraduate education, was also present.
During his distinguished campus career, George Maslach served as professor, dean of the College of Engineering, provost of the professional schools and colleges and vice chancellor for research and academic affairs. Throughout that time, he supported student organizations and the recruitment of women, minority and community college students.

Doris Maslach has been a long-time campus supporter and student-housing advocate.

“I was so surprised when I heard about this. It was like winning the lottery,” Doris said. ”I can’t think of any honor that means more to me.”

In the early 1980s, she was instrumental in helping the university acquire former schools for the deaf and blind, which later became Clark Kerr Campus.

“At the time, the campus was suffering from a real shortage of housing,” Doris recalled. “We were bussing students to campus from dorms at Mills College because space was so tight.”

The two Berkeley graduates have also helped raise funds for alumni scholarships and were active, as parents, in efforts to desegregate Berkeley K-12 schools in the 1950s.

“Access to education,” said Doris, “has been a priority for us throughout our lives.”

Photos and a chronology tracing the Maslachs’ contributions to the university — on display at the dedication — will be permanently located inside the couple’s namesake hall.

Following the ceremony, the couple dined with Maslach Hall residents.

They say they intend to provide the residents with funds to hold an annual event of the students’ choosing.

“The Clark Kerr campus is such a jewel, with its beautiful grounds and incredible recreational facilities,” said George. “It’s wonderful to have our name attached to it in some way.”