UC Berkeley swears in new police chief
Yogananda Pittman was sworn in as UC Berkeley’s new police chief on Feb. 1 and will direct a force of over 140 officers, community safety officers and staff, according to a UC Berkeley press release.
Before her new role in the UC Berkeley Police Department, Pittman served as the interim chief of the U.S. Capitol Police. She was appointed just two days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, the press release said. Pittman served in the U.S. Capitol Police force since 2001.
“The events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 — I certainly don’t want to talk about that today … but it’s part of my journey and something I will build on,” she said during her swearing-in event.
Pittman was both the first Black person and first woman to lead the U.S. Capitol Police force after the resignation of her predecessor, Steven Sund.
In her new role, she will be charged with implementing a multi-year campus security reform program to “improve emergency management, mental health crisis response and security technology and to strengthen relations with diverse communities,” the press release said.
UC San Diego opens Hillel Center
UC San Diego opened a Hillel center on Jan. 15, creating a new space for Jewish students on campus to celebrate holidays, host community activities and serve as a headquarters for Jewish organizations on campus, a press release from UC San Diego Today said.
Hillel — the world’s largest Jewish campus organization — encourages university students to expand on their connections with “Jewish life, learning and Israel,” according to the press release.
Before the construction of the new $18.7 million building — named the Beverly and Joseph Glickman Hillel Center after the lead donors for the project — UCSD Hillel was housed in an alternate on-campus building.
“This is a project that the San Diego community has been looking forward to for many years and for many reasons,” UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said during the ceremony, according to the press release. “This center will provide meaningful connections. It will create a sense of belonging and understanding, not just for our Jewish community and our Jewish students, but also for all of our valued communities on campus.”
The creation of the center was over 20 years in the making due to ongoing legal challenges, the press release said. Now open with the support of the local Jewish community, students, public officials and UCSD administrators, it will provide students with basic needs — like meals and showers — as well as religious services, one-on-one meetings and hands-on programs.
UC Santa Cruz launches new Campus + Community center
UC Santa Cruz is launching a Campus + Community (C + C) center to support campus and community scholarship that advances social justice, the university announced this month.
The center’s goal is fostering “ethical and mutually beneficial community-engaged scholarship,” according to its website.
“We wanted to provide a landing spot for the community, a central hub to facilitate new and established partnerships between UC Santa Cruz and community organizations that will impact our region and beyond,” C + C Faculty Director Rebecca London told the UCSC newsroom.
C + C received an “informal kickoff” during the October UCSC All-In Conference, bringing together students, community leaders and activists to discuss creating structural change, according to the press release.
The new center will be partnering with The Humanities Institute, the Arts Research Institute and other cross-campus collaborators to build equitable collaborations, the press release stated.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the Feb. 9, 2023, print edition of the Daily Nexus.
