Charter Day Celebration |
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12 April 2004 ATTENTION: City desks, higher education writers |
Contact:
Media Relations
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WHAT
The University of California, Berkeley's 136th Charter Day celebration, at which Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl, who is leaving his post in June, will be honored for seven years of campus leadership. This is the only event at which the entire campus community will bid him farewell.
Charter Day celebrates the March 1868 signing by the governor of the act that officially created the University of California.
WHEN
3 p.m. Thursday, April 15
WHERE
Zellerbach Auditorium, UC Berkeley
WHO
The chancellor will deliver the keynote address at this formal Charter Day event. Other speakers will include representatives of the faculty, staff, student body, alumni association, the UC Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees and the city of Berkeley.
DETAILS
Informal Charter Day festivities will be held at UC Berkeley starting at 11 a.m. on Dwinelle Plaza with a tug-of-war, cake-eating contest and other student-led games. Reviving a tradition from years past, students will compete for prizes and the coveted Charter Cup. Cupcakes and entertainment will be provided at noon.
In addition to honoring the chancellor and his wife, Peg Berdahl, the 3 p.m. ceremony will include presentation of the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award to community activist Corinne S. Jan. An Oakland resident who graduated from UC Berkeley in 1976, she has devoted her life to providing seniors and minority groups, especially Asian communities, with access to health care, legal aid, education and other essential services. The award recognizes an alumnus of UC Berkeley who has worked for the betterment of society through acts of voluntary service.
A procession into Zellerbach of faculty, alumni, staff and students in colorful regalia begins at 2:30 p.m.
All Charter Day celebration events are free and open to the public. Tickets, which are free, are required for the ceremony and can be obtained at the Zellerbach Box Office. Reporters do not need tickets. For more information on Charter Day, see www.urel.berkeley.edu/charterday/.