Los Angeles Times: UC Berkeley to get $113-million gift

The Hewlett Foundation donation will create 100 endowed faculty chairs, to counter the exodus of faculty to rich private universities.

By Richard C. Paddock

BERKELEY — UC Berkeley plans to announce today that it will receive $113 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to create 100 endowed faculty chairs and slow the exodus of top professors to wealthy private universities.  The university and the foundation hope that the huge gift will help Berkeley retain faculty members who are sometimes wooed by private universities with offers of $100,000 pay hikes and millions of dollars in research money.  Attracting and keeping the best faculty members, they say, is the key to maintaining the campus' excellence.  "This Hewlett gift will be transformational," UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said. "We are moving toward a model that has been developed successfully at private universities."

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