A letter from the Director, February 2015

Happy New Year! And as I write this letter I realize that this is my fifth year as Director of UCMP and as a faculty member at Berkeley. Hard to believe how fast the time has flown by! As I reflect upon the last five years, I am very proud of what we have achieved — a great new generation of undergraduate and graduate students; several major grants from NSF, IMLS, the Moore Foundation, CalTrans, as well as several smaller awards, all of which have funded students in the collections, and strengthened our already strong education and outreach program; a new Assistant Professor (Seth Finnegan); a new Museum Scientist (Erica Clites); a new Director of Education and Public Programs (Lisa White); a new webmaster (Trish Roque); and a tremendous group of volunteers. I am also very pleased to report that UCMP is held in high esteem on campus, especially by the Vice Chancellor for Research's Office, the office I report to as Director of UCMP (and as the current Chair of the Berkeley Natural History Museums). It is a rare privilege to be in an institution where we both have substantial natural history collections, and where they are viewed as a strength to boast about! Wishing you all the best for 2015, and thank you for your continued support of UCMP, including your overwhelming response to our call for the Bill Clemens Oral History Project.

Sincerely,
Charles Marshall