Support DEIBJ

Students walking on the UC Berkeley campus

College Commitments Empowering All

Rausser College of Natural Resources’ "service through science" approach brings together diverse world-class faculty, researchers, students, and partners to collaborate on innovative solutions for the benefit of society and the environment. Solutions that work for everyone—both today, and in the long term.

The more diverse we are, the better we fulfill our public service mandate.

At the heart of our mission to see the bigger picture is a commitment to fostering equity and ensuring that our community is welcoming and inclusive for all. As we work to define, dismantle, and mitigate systemic inequities, we plan to enhance current Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ) activities and initiate new programs to nurture a climate of inclusive excellence across all of our operations.

With these goals in mind, our College is proud to present the following funding opportunities. They strengthen our work by reinforcing a culture that foregrounds our capacity to provide institutional impact, mobility, and belonging. We welcome your questions and your partnership. 

Your support can empower faculty focused on DEIBJ scholarship, enhance professional development opportunities for staff, and fund summer internship grants to advance the career prospects of low-income students by ensuring their time at Berkeley is transformative.

The Lewis and Kala Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund

The Lewis and Kala Fund is used to celebrate, educate, cultivate, and grow our DEIBJ programs at Rausser College of Natural Resources. Gifts to this fund help us to bring together our community of students, staff, and faculty. The fund plays a key role in promoting a more inclusive and equitable learning environment — nurturing future leaders who are prepared to engage with diverse perspectives, and contributing to broader societal change. Your generosity can support impactful programs including the Students of Color Environmental Collective Mentorship Program, the Summer Internship Grants Program, and the HBCU-Berkeley Environmental Scholars for Change Program, which facilitates two-way learning among UC Berkeley and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students.

Furthering Faculty Impact

We are committed to recruiting faculty who have a rich array of personal experiences, values, and worldviews stemming from differences of culture and circumstances. In addition to supporting the clusters and other multi-pronged centers of excellence—including the Berkeley Food Institute or the Stone Center for Environmental Stewardship—your funding may support:

  • An Endowed chair in DEIBJ, STEM chairs
  • Curriculum development
  • Training
  • Workshops, seminar series
  • Research seed funds

To learn more about how you can make a gift to support these efforts, contact Linda Rafferty, Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement, at lrafferty@berkeley.edu.

UC Berkeley’s new interdisciplinary Climate Equity and Environmental Justice faculty cluster. From left, Meg Mills-Novoa, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Maya Carrasquillo, Danielle Zoe Rivera and Zoé Hamstead. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

UC Berkeley’s interdisciplinary Climate Equity and Environmental Justice faculty cluster, which is working to strengthen research in the areas of climate mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development through an equity and environmental justice lens. From left, Meg Mills-Novoa, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Maya Carrasquillo, Danielle Zoe Rivera and Zoé Hamstead. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Strengthening Student Opportunities

Rausser College has made experiential and hands-on learning a top priority, with a renewed focus on recruiting and mentoring students who have been historically underserved or felt excluded from the conversation. As we continue to diversify our demographics and offer quality courses, resources, and services for all, we recognize that our students—among them Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as first-generation and transfer students—are in need of additional support.

We’re here for them.


Visit our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging page for more on Rausser College efforts to advance sustainability with justice in our research, teaching, and service.