Berkeley

Berkeley Perk: A Team Dedicated to Employee Health and Wellness

Published

8 years ago

January 30, 2019

Kim Guess, UC Berkeley’s registered dietitian, teaches employees at the Haas School of Business how to make no-cook chia pudding, chia jam and an orange poppyseed salad, during a cooking class sponsored by Be Well at Work. (UC Berkeley photo by Jeremy Snowden)

By Will Kane

Kim Guess works for UC Berkeley. Her job is to make sure her colleagues — all 8,300 staff and 3,800 faculty — eat enough fruits and vegetables. She offers cooking classes, runs an “Ask a Dietitian” email advice line and oversees a new policy ensuring the campus offers more healthy options.

Guess, a registered dietitian, works for Berkeley’s Be Well at Work program, a collection of services run through University Health Services to help staff and faculty with nettlesome issues like raising a family, balancing technology use, buying a house, dealing with the death of a loved one, caring for an aging parent or avoiding workplace injuries, among other topics.

All staff and faculty on campus have access to the classes, one-on-one counseling sessions and wellness programs. For free.

“When it comes to people’s finance, there can be a question of how you look for help or where you begin,” said Karen Patchell, who runs Be Well at Work’s financial literacy programs. “We try to make that easy for you.”

Patchell regularly gets questions about saving for retirement or building a down payment fund and connects employees with financial counselors from Fidelity Investments, Berkeley’s retirement plan administrator, or Bank of the West, the campus’s official bank.

“A lot of times people think buying a home in the Bay Area is impossible, and then they meet with one of the counselors and they start to see that it might be possible,” she said. The counselors can also help with issues like paying down credit card debt or saving money.

Mallory Lynch, meanwhile, spends her day making sure employees don’t get injured at work. She’s one of two full-time ergonomists — they call themselves the posture police — who coordinate a team of deputy workstation evaluators across the campus.

“Each office should have one,” she said of the evaluators. “Find out who they are and ask for an evaluation. Eighty-five percent of injuries come from people using their mouse incorrectly.”

And cost shouldn’t be a barrier. Lynch’s office has a matching fund to help cash-poor departments buy ergonomic mice, keyboards or new chairs.

“The stuff doesn’t cost that much,” she said. “You can’t afford not to do it because then you get hurt and then your morale suffers. The idea is to fit the job to the worker. If someone is having pain or discomfort, they should talk to their supervisor.”

And yes, you should eat more vegetables, said Guess, the campus dietitian.

“Whenever possible, try to make half your plate fruit or vegetables,” she recommended.

“That can make the biggest difference. Ask yourself at each meal, how am I going to get those vegetables in there?”

But changing diet can be easier said than done, Guess acknowledged. She can help with that too.

She runs a six-week behavior-change class called “I CAN!” that includes nutrition classes, a cooking seminar, a grocery store visit led by Guess and before-and-after fitness assessments.

“We want you to feel healthy and well,” she said. “That’s why we’re here.”

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Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

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Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

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Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.