He emphasized quality teaching and devised a series of small, community-oriented programs to unite disparate elements on campus. He and his wife Peg met regularly with student leaders and held dinners in their home for undergraduates. He invited random groups of students to his office for regular bull sessions about campus life. He hopes to recreate a variation of each of these practices at Cal. I need to talk to the students and hear what they have to say.
Parents can count on getting an attentive hearing as well.
Parents experience Berkeley in ways we need to hear about. And their first experience with the university is very important. As parents themselves, Chancellor Berdahl and his wife Peg speak from experience. Their three daughters all attended small liberal arts colleges, and are all now teachers, two at the college level. Perhaps as a result of the college parent experience, Berdahl has worked hard to give undergraduates more personal attention.