Cal Alumni Association - UC Berkeley

Since 1986, the Prytanean Alumnae Faculty Enrichment Award has recognized tenure-track women faculty at UC Berkeley for scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and service. Every recipient who has gone up for tenure has earned it. Dr. Vasugi Kailasam and Dr. Youjin Chung are the newest names on that list.

Dr. Kailasam, Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Studies, is one of the few Tamil studies scholars working anywhere in the world. A native Tamil speaker raised in Chennai, she researches how Tamil identity, migration, and transnational politics shape modern literature and visual culture. Her $35,000 grant will support a campus Tamil Studies conference and her second book.

Dr. Chung holds a joint appointment in the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. An ethnographer specializing in political ecology, she conducts long-term fieldwork on gender, land, and ecological change in Tanzania. Her grant will fund her second book, graduate research assistants, and dependent care.

Both were honored at an Alumni House reception hosted by Chancellor Rich Lyons last November. Both are exactly the kind of scholars this award was built to support.

🐻💙💛

UC Berkeley has gained a reputation for its inclusivity, but this current identity is a result of decades of history. From the first on-campus q***r organizations forming in the 1960s during the Gay Liberation movement to the establishment of the Gender and Women’s Studies department that has had notable faculty such as poet and writer June Jordan, to the creation of the barrier-breaking Q***r fraternity in more recent years, Berkeley has upheld a reputation of inclusion.

Visit our website to read and learn more about LGBTQ+ history at Berkeley: https://alumni.berkeley.edu/lgbtq-living-history-berkeley/

Happy Pride Month to all of our Golden Bears! 🏳️‍🌈🐻❤️



📸 Image 1: “Undergraduate noontime seminar staged by students each Tuesday outside of Giannini Hall, to talk over forestry and job matters amongst themselves. See also #5799 and 5800. April 1935, E.F.” Metcalf, W., & Fritz, E. (1901). The Metcalf-Fritz photographic collection.
📸 Image 2: Newly graduated students from the recently established Women’s Studies Program at UC Berkeley. Photos courtesy of Gloria Bowles.
📸 Image 3: GenEq’s QT Pie in 2022. Photo courtesy of Centers for Educational Justice & Community Engagement.
📸 Image 4: GenEq at SF Pride in 2022. Photo courtesy of Centers for Educational Justice & Community Engagement.

Is your robot happy? 🤖

For Florian Pestoni, Haas MBA '01, that's not a joke. It's the question that started a company.

After years building products at Facebook, Microsoft, and Adobe, Pestoni noticed something the robotics world kept getting wrong. Brilliant founders would spend years perfecting a robot, nail the demo, and then watch it walk out the door into a world with no one keeping track of it. Stuck. Drained. Quietly failing in a back hallway somewhere.

So he built InOrbit, the platform now orchestrating robot fleets in hotels, hospitals, airports, warehouses, and farms. The same system that tells a hotel cleaning robot to head straight for last night's conference room is also helping address a U.S. shortage of 100,000 trained forklift operators with self-driving forklifts he calls "indoor Waymos."

His take on the future of work? Robots aren't here to replace people. They're here to take on the tasks that wear people down.

Read the full story 🐻💙💛
alumni.berkeley.edu/is-your-robot-happy

Your Berkeley bank

The Berkeley family reaches far beyond campus. BMO is proud to support the alumni community this summer and beyond.

Accounts are subject to approval are provided in the United States by BMO Bank N.A. Member FDIC

Learn more at BMO: The Official Bank of UC Berkeley
🔗 https://bit.ly/4wpEE2j

This post has been sponsored by our partner, BMO U.S.

Deep dive into London's West End with a trip with Cal Discoveries Travel! The itinerary includes eight different plays, some featuring award winning playwrights and other reimagined productions, along with various conversations with industry experts. Travelers are bound to learn the nuances of London’s live performances along with enjoying world-class entertainment.

There is still time to sign up: https://alumni.berkeley.edu/tours/inside-the-london-theatre-scene/

This tour, along with all Cal Discoveries Travel experiences, are open to all!

🍷 Every winery has an origin story. For these, it starts on the Berkeley campus.

The Graduate Wine Collective's annual Legacy in the Glass tasting is a gathering unlike any other in the Cal community. On July 11, Alumni House becomes the backdrop for an afternoon of wines crafted by Bears who went on to build some of the most compelling wineries and vineyards in the country. These are not just bottles on a table. They are proof of what happens when a UC Berkeley education meets decades of dedication, risk, and craft.

Come taste the results. Walk the room. Meet the community that made it possible. And know that every ticket purchased turns into support for the programs that keep the next generation of Golden Bears moving forward.

The Graduate Wine Collective Annual Wine Tasting: Legacy in the Glass

🗓️Saturday, July 11 | 2–5 PM
📍Alumni House, UC Berkeley
🎟️ Secure your tickets before they're gone: https://bit.ly/4ejF02e

Want access to Cal alumni-connected wines all year long? The Graduate Wine Collective welcomes you: https://bit.ly/4uA8dMJ

We are thrilled to welcome Charles Long, the 2026 University Medalist, as a Life Long Member of the Cal Alumni Association! 🎉🐻

Charles's journey to Berkeley was anything but ordinary, and his story of resilience, scholarship, and purpose has moved our entire community. As a sociology and social welfare double major with a perfect 4.0, he has spent his time on campus mentoring incarcerated youth and working to transform the criminal justice system from the inside out.

When we asked Charles about his new membership perks, he lit up talking about the license plate decal and his California magazine subscription, two small but meaningful ways to carry his Cal pride with him wherever life takes him next.

And life is taking him far. Charles is spending a gap year in Africa before applying to PhD programs, continuing the work that has already changed so many lives. We cannot wait to see what he accomplishes, and we hope to welcome him back to Cal again soon!

Congratulations, Charles. Go Bears, always. 💙💛

Want decals, magazine subscriptions, and more in your life? Become a Life Long Member today: alumni.berkeley.edu/join

Your fellow Golden Bears are out there, and they want to meet you. 🐻💙💛

Joining a local Alumni Chapter means more than just staying connected to Cal. It means building a real network in your city, celebrating wins together at game watch parties, giving back through community events, and finding your people no matter where life has landed you.

Berkeley shaped who you are. Let your local chapter keep that spirit alive. 🙌✨

Find a chapter near you 👇
alumni.berkeley.edu/get-involved/chapters

Help Protect What Matters Most

Building a strong future means preparing for the unexpected. Whether you’re supporting loved ones, sharing financial commitments, or planning ahead for the years to come, life insurance can help provide an added layer of security. Through UC Berkeley Alumni Association’s trusted partner, AMBA, alumni can explore coverage options that help protect the people, goals, and financial future that matter most.

Link: https://bit.ly/3RxcIJX

This post has been sponsored by our partner, AMBA.