December’s meeting of Berkeley’s Wisdom Café Community featured a conversation between Inette Dishler (Talent and Organizational Performance (TOP)) and campus personality James Dudek (Student Affairs Information Technology), on the subject of personal and career networking.
UC’s vibrant employee community is part of what makes the university a welcoming and inviting place. Employee groups provide forums for faculty, staff and retirees to gather socially for networking or development, and to discuss shared interests.
Berkeley Staff Assembly Mentorship Program
The BSA Mentorship Program is a volunteer program, coordinated by the Career Development Committee (CDC), that pairs experienced campus staff members (mentors) with staff who are looking to develop themselves professionally (mentees). Participants have the opportunity to build connections, explore challenges, and better understand the Berkeley organizational culture.
Founded in 1987, Toastmasters on Campus club is a learn-by-doing workshop for students and professionals to improve their communication and leadership skills. Guests are warmly welcomed.
Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development with over 300,000 members in 126 countries. Members work through a manual of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking.
Berkeley Parents Network is a non-profit parent-to-parent network for the San Francisco Bay Area. Our mission is to help local parents support each other. Founded in 1993 as a mailing list for student parents at UC Berkeley, BPN has grown to include more than 30,000 subscribers from all over the Bay Area who use BPN to find childcare and schools, classes and camps, recommendations for local services, and to seek advice from other parents. Parents subscribe to BPN for free, and BPN also accepts Community Subscriptions from schools, childcare providers, and other local kid-related services who want to publicize their programs on BPN.
The Interactive Theater Program (ITP) is a collaborative project at UC Berkeley whose mission is to use theater to address climate issues in a unique and innovative manner. The ITP Theater Company is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni, who are committed to enhancing our work and educational environments.
Members of a Community of Practice bring together staff with similar professional interests, and serve as a community to share knowledge and offer professional development. They develop a shared collective of resources and tools to enhance particular skills. Leadership from the Communities of Practice are looked upon as experts in their area and provide advice and mentorship to their members. Joining relevant communities of practice allows staff to continue to develop and broaden their skills, as well as meet people who have similar professional interests. All communities of practice are open and inclusive of all UC Berkeley staff.
Faculty mentoring is a valuable investment in our future academic excellence. Academic excellence depends on the ability of our faculty to do their very best work throughout their academic careers.
Multicultural Education Program
The Multicultural Education Program (MEP) is one of six initiatives funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund to work towards institutional change and to create a positive campus climate for diversity. The MEP is a five-year initiative to establish a sustainable infrastructure for activities like educational consultation and diversity workshops for the campus that address both specific topics, and to cater to group needs across the campus.
UC Berkeley Wellness Ambassadors are volunteers that help to create a culture of health within the workplace by promoting faculty and staff participation and engagement in campus wellness programs, services and events.
UC Berkeley Special Interest Groups are communities with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge. Their work is usually focused on specific tasks or interests with no official governing body. As with the Communities of Practice and Staff Organizations, membership in UC Berkeley Special Interest Groups is open and inclusive of all who share similar interests and hobbies.