Academics generally take center stage at Berkeley, followed closely by the university’s social impact initiatives. Campus leadership in these areas is undergirded by its non-academic staff and operations, which power the institution through the day-to-day work that makes it shine. In FY23, UBPS partners delivered significant benefits to these teams and activities.
Celebrating Staff
Universities typically focus non-state funding, like philanthropy, on academic initiatives and buildings. Support for staff development is largely internal, and can be squeezed with tight budgets. This context underlines the importance of UBPS partner support for Berkeley People & Culture. In a tight labor market where growth opportunities are key to employee retention, the campus HR team used $50,000 in funding from Farmers Insurance and other partners to celebrate employees through activities like Staff Appreciation Week, and to offer them compelling career development opportunities like the Next Opportunities at Work (NOW) Conference.
Investing in Success
Beyond the headlines of named buildings and signature initiatives, funding university capital projects is challenging. At the same time, the surge in food delivery and order-ahead services has made attractive, well-designed spaces key for food service providers. Peet’s and Berkeley Dining successfully tackled both circumstances in their upgrade of the university-operated Peet’s location at Golden Bear Café, the campus casual food hub. The original craft coffee's funding and design support helped to elevate the space to the tune of an 11% year-on-year increase in Peet’s beverage sales.