Birgeneau chosen as UC Berkeley chancellor

Selected from a pool of 298 candidates, Robert Birgeneau, an internationally distinguished physicist and president of the University of Toronto, on July 27 was named the ninth chancellor of UC Berkeley.

Regents appointed Birgeneau to the post effective on or about Oct. 1, approving a salary of $390,000. He replaces Robert Berdahl, who announced last Sep-tember his intention to step down after seven years.

Birgeneau, 62, has served in his current post since 2000. He previously was a dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he spent 25 years on faculty. He has been elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences, has received numerous awards for teaching and research, and is one of the most highly cited physicists in the world.

Birgeneau received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto in 1963 and his doctorate in physics from Yale in 1966. He will hold a faculty appointment. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental properties of materials beginning at the level of a single atom and building up to macroscopic dimensions.

Regents adjust eligibility standards

Though UC regents have deferred a vote on raising the minimum grade point average required for eligibility, they approved other adjustments to eligibility standards on July 15.

The adjustments were OK'd with the hope that they will help keep the size of the university's eligibility pool at the 12.5 percent target defined by the state Master Plan for Higher Education.

A recent study by the state Postsecondary Education Commission found that 14.4 percent of public high school graduates are qualifying for UC admission.

Changing the minimum grade point average from 2.8 to 3.1 would be one part of a plan recommended by the Academic Senate to make sure only the top one-eighth of students are eligible.

Part of the plan approved July 15 includes ensuring that the GPA for statewide eligibility is calculated to reflect performance in all required 10th- and 11th-grade courses -- not only the best combination of grades a student achieved in a given subject. The other part of that plan alters the timing of when students in the top 4 percent of their high school classes become eligible for admission.

Students currently are required to complete statewide course and test requirements before they enroll. Under the new plan, the students are not considered eligible until they complete the requirements, UC officials said.

Both of these changes will take effect with the fall 2005 entering class.

Other changes, including raising the minimum GPA and adjusting the UC Eligibility Index, which measures grades and test scores on a sliding scale, were slated to be discussed by the regents later this month.