Connect
Join us in celebrating the California Golden Bear spirit at events in our region.
upcoming EVENTS
KICK OFF 2026 WITH CAL!
Join fellow UC Berkeley alumni for an energetic evening of connection, conversation, and Cal spirit as we kick off 2026 together!
January 7th, 2026, 5:15 PM
Location:
Punch Bowl Social
310 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
Whether you’re looking to reconnect, expand your network, spark new ideas, or simply enjoy time with fellow Bears, this is the perfect way to launch the year. Hope to see you there, and Go Bears!
Registration link for Cal Alumni 2026 Kickoff:
MEN’S BASKETBALL WATCH PARTY:
CAL VS. NORTH CAROLINA
Mark Madsen has the Bears off to a hot start. Come join us to cheer on the Bears as the Tar Heels visit Haas Pavilion.
Saturday, January 17th, 2026
3 PM CST
Location:
The Bad Apple Lincoln Park
658 W. Belden
Chicago, IL
DECEMBER MIDWEST ALUMNI PROFILE: TRANSITIONING FROM “THE CORRIDORS OF POWER” TO THE CLASSROOM
For our December profile of Berkeley alums from the Midwest region, this month we met up with Sarah Chandler in Saint Louis, who talked about some of the challenges of working with special needs kids after a successful career in international relations. “Dealing with explosive personalities and helping kids learn how to deal with whatever kind of trauma or challenges they were coping with, none of that was in the cards” during her time at Berkeley. Click here to read the full profile on our blog page.
CACC RINGS IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH FINAL WATCH PARTY OF THE REGULAR SEASON
On November 29, Cal fans and alumni met at the Hurley Tap in Chicago for the final game watch party of the 2025 regular season. The Golden Bears topped the SMU Mustangs as they look toward the bowl season to close out the year. We’ve enjoyed game watches all year, thanks again to the Hurley Tap for hosting. Hurley Tap, 1645 W Cortland St., Chicago, IL 60622
CACC HOSTS JOINT WATCH PARTY WITH
STANFORD ALUMS FOR BIG GAME 2025
100 Cal and Stanford alums came together for a co-hosted Big Game Watch party in Chicago on November 22 in one of our largest gatherings to date. Sliders, tacos and pizza were enjoyed by all. Two lucky Cal alums won Cal swag from the raffle drawing, and (except for the outcome of the game), Cal alums enjoyed mixing and mingling with one another and that other ACC school’s alums South of the Bay.
ALUMNI AND CAL WBB FANS HEAD TO PARIS
FOR SEASON OPENER
Cal WBB student-athletes arriving in Paris 10/30/25
Bears travel well - alumni in Paris supporting WBB
The women's basketball team participated in the Oui-Play Paris 2025, kicking off the season vs. Vanderbilt on Nov. 3 at the Adidas Arena in Paris. Several Midwestern alumni made the trip to catch the opener of a team that is coming off one of their most successful seasons ever. Last year, the Bears earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018-19, won 25 games for the first time since 2012-13, maintained an Associated Press Top 25 ranking for eight straight weeks, set a program record for home wins in a season (16), and defeated multiple ranked teams.
TAILGATES AND REUNIONS WITH MIDWEST ALUMS
Midwest alumni have traveled well this fall for football too. We’ve reunited for road games and also trips to the Berkeley campus - the above pix were taken in a visit pre-game vs. Louisville on 11/8/25 by CACC members. More reunions to come for 2025-26!
BERKELEY PROFESSORS RECEIVE NOBEL PRIZES
In what’s seemingly becoming an annual tradition each fall, two more Nobel Prizes were received this week by UC Berkeley professors.
Professor John Clarke received a 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. Prof. Clarke is an emeritus professor of physics at the school currently. His work in particular was that of quantum tunneling, one of many strange aspects of quantum mechanics. He shares the prize with two other physicists, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, who at the time of their prize-winning research were at UC Berkeley. Devoret is now at Yale University and UC Santa Barbara, while Martinis is at UC Santa Barbara.
Then the following day, it was announced that Omar Yaghi, a Jordanian-American chemist on campus, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shares it with Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan.
“The scientists were cited for creating “molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These constructions, metal-organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions.” You can read the full article here.
According to Berkeley News, the Nobel Prize committee honored Prof. Clarke’s team “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.” The discovery laid the foundation for superconducting quantum bits, or qubits, at the heart of many of today’s quantum computers. Congrats once again to UC Berkeley professors receiving these prestigious awards.
CHICAGO AND OTHER CAA CHAPTERS FEATURED IN ALUMNI MAGAZINE ARTICLE
The CACC and other regional chapters of the Cal Alumni Association were all featured in this comprehensive round-up of summer alumni activities in the most recent alumni magazine edition. Summer welcome parties were the main thrust of the October 1 article, and the article featured activity from the following alumni chapters:
Lake Tahoe Alumni Club | Berkeley Chinese Alumni International Association | Cal Alumni Club of Florida | Berkeley Student Cooperative Alumni Association | Black Engineering Science Alumni Club | Cal Alumni Chapter of Southern Nevada | Cal Alumni Club of Austin | Cal Alumni Club of Chicago | Cal Alumni Club of Southern Nevada | Club Alumni Club of Fresno | Cal Alumni Club of Houston | Cal Alumni Club of Long Beach | Cal Alumni Club of Marin | Cal Alumni Club of the Monterey Peninsula | Cal Alumni Club of New England | Cal Alumni Club of New York | Cal Alumni Club of Washington D.C. | Cal Alumni of Los Angeles | Cal Bears in the Desert | Black Alumni Association | Cal Club of San Joaquin County | Central Coast Cal Alumni Chapter | Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, Bay Area | Motor City Cal Alumni Association of Southeast Michigan | Napa Valley Cal Alumni Club | Native and Indigenous Alumni Chapter | Orange County Cal Alumni Club | Portland Cal Alumni Club | Pilipinx (Pilipino) American Alumni Chapter | Colorado Alumni | Sac Cal Alumni | San Diego Cal Alumni | San Gabriel Valley Cal Alumni Club
2025 CAL ALUMNI CLUB OF CHICAGO T-SHIRTS FOR SALE
Show your Cal spirit in Chicago by purchasing a Cal Alumni Club of Chicago t-shirt for $35 plus shipping. We’ve had alumni wear them at social events, volunteer activities, new admitted student receptions, and Golden Bear football games. Email calalumniassociationchicago@gmail.com for orders.
About
We are an officially chartered chapter of the California Alumni Association bringing together Cal alums form the greater Chicagoland area and surrounding Midwest states.
The Cal Alumni Club of Chicago organizes social activities, game watches and volunteer events for Alumni throughout the year. We also work with the University to coordinate and host a Summer Welcome Party for the new Midwest Cal students.
If you are interested in getting involved, sign-up for our events and please email us at calalumniassociationchicago<at>gmail.com. Sign-up for our monthly newsletter below.
Inspire
