[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 7, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E603-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING CHANCELLOR ROBERT J. BIRGENEAU

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2013

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary career of Dr. Robert J. Birgeneau as he steps down from 
nearly a decade of service to the University of California, Berkeley as 
chancellor. Chancellor Birgeneau's transformative leadership at UC 
Berkeley has added tremendously to its role as the world's premier 
public research and teaching university. Therefore, I join our 
community in celebrating the many ways in which his tenure has 
contributed to the success, insight, and well-being of countless people 
throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
  Tasked with the challenge of guiding UC Berkeley through one of the 
most challenging financial periods in its 145-year history, Chancellor 
Birgeneau worked to ensure that the school's hallmark qualities of 
inclusion and excellence continued to thrive. His tenure oversaw a 
breadth of achievement, including three Nobel Prizes and the dream of 
financial aid for undocumented California students.
  An internationally distinguished physicist who was the first in his 
family to graduate from high school, Chancellor Birgeneau was appointed 
as UC Berkeley's ninth chancellor in 2004. Since then, he has launched 
the largest fundraising campaign in UC Berkeley's history--raising more 
than $2.4 billion to date. He helped create one of academia's first 10-
year strategic plans for a Division of Equity & Inclusion and fostered 
multidisciplinary campus connections to work on pressing social issues, 
resulting in the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute; the Energy 
Biosciences Institute; the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health 
Sciences; and the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies.
  Additionally, Chancellor Birgeneau's tireless advocacy played a 
leadership role in the successful passage of the California DREAM Act. 
A vocal proponent for fair access to public higher education amidst 
difficult state funding cuts and rising tuition, Chancellor Birgeneau 
championed Pell Grants and put in place a groundbreaking financial aid 
plan for middle-income families. He also took up the cause of students 
who are former foster children, and upon winning the 2008 Academic 
Leadership Award from the Carnegie Corporation, gave $50,000 of his 
prize to seed an endowment fund for UC Berkeley students from the 
foster care system.
  Chancellor Birgeneau's numerous accolades and associations include 
the 2009 Pathfinders

[[Page E604]]

to Peace Prize from the Shinnyo-en Foundation, White House recognition, 
and being one of six academic leaders tapped by President Obama to 
create the national Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. His plan to 
remain at UC Berkeley to teach and conduct research is certainly 
welcome news. Chancellor Birgeneau's wise guidance, influence, and 
example has set the course for UC Berkeley's continued status as one of 
the world's most celebrated public institutions.
  On behalf of the residents of California's 13th Congressional 
District, Dr. Robert J. Birgeneau, I salute you for your outstanding 
service to higher education. I congratulate and thank you for your 
unparalleled legacy as a passionate and effective steward of the 
University of California, Berkeley. You have touched many lives in 
profound ways throughout your career, and we wish you and your loved 
ones continued success and happiness in this new chapter.

                          ____________________