A balanced budget, but chancellor’s fall backpack is heavy

The chancellor says talking with students is a favorite part of her busy schedule. (UC Berkeley photo by Keegan Houser) Fall semester has set sail at UC Berkeley with a balanced budget, new hires to improve campus diversity and a start on growing the faculty. The waters aren't calm, though. Buildings need seismic repair, low numbers of underrepresented minority students persist, and there's insufficient student housing. But it's full speed ahead for Carol Christ, in her third school year at Berkeley as chancellor. Energetic, optimistic, determined and a role model for wellness, she recently talked with Berkeley News about how she'll navigate the new school year. In August, you shared publicly that a seismic assessment of some 600 campus buildings rated 62 as "poor" and six as "very poor." More than $1 billion already has been spent on seismic improvements at Berkeley; it will take at least that much to finish.