April 18, 2005

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Dear Colleagues:

On Thursday, April 21, at 4 p.m. in Corwin Pavilion, we are honored to present a special lecture by Dr. Charles M. Vest, former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and our 2005 Clark Kerr Lecturer.

Dr. Vest is an innovator and visionary in higher education. His free public lecture will focus on "Openness and Globalization in Higher Education--The Age of the Internet, Terrorism, and Opportunity." A reception will follow.

The Clark Kerr Lecture series was established in 2001 through UC Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher Education in honor of the late Clark Kerr. Kerr was one of the 20th century's most influential leaders in higher education. He was a former UC Berkeley chancellor, president of the UC system, and chief architect of California's master plan for higher education. He helped establish the center and maintained close ties throughout his career. Kerr died in 2003. Vest is a national leader in higher education. As president of MIT from 1990-2004, Vest worked to improve undergraduate education, strengthen the international dimensions of education and research programs, boost relations with industry, and enhance racial and cultural diversity. He also devoted considerable energy to bringing issues concerning education and research to broader public attention and to strengthening national policy on science, engineering and education. He was provost of the University of Michigan before joining MIT.

Vest will deliver three lectures in all. The first will be held on April 19 at UC Berkeley, followed by the one at UCSB. A third lecture is scheduled for next fall at Berkeley. The lectures will focus on the dynamics of federal science and technology policymaking, and the role of three distinct constituents: the public, government, and industry. The University of California's Office of the President provided initial funding for the lectures, which are delivered every two years. The first Kerr Lecturer was Harold Shapiro, president emeritus of Princeton University and a former president of the University of Michigan. For more information about the Clark Kerr Lectures on the Role of Higher Education in Society, visit http://cshe.berkeley.edu/kerrlectures.

If you can find time, I hope you will join us on Thursday for this very special lecture.

 

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang