2024 EVENTS

GAME WATCH AT FLAGSHIP TAVERN 11/16/24

Join Cal alums at the Flagship Tavern and Grill at 1622 W. Belmont in Chicago, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. as Cal football takes on the Orange of Syracuse. The Bears are 5-4 and are one win away from bowl eligibility.

Google maps link to Flagship Tavern and Grill: https://maps.app.goo.gl/m2tKj3adueTDDHubA

BIG GAME WATCH PARTY NOVEMBER 23 AT 2:30 PM

Join CACC for the biggest Watch Party of the season as the Golden Bears take on Stanfurd for the 127th Big Game. Hors d’oeuvres will be flowing, Cal gear will be raffled and “Fight for California” will be sung as Cal once again will KEEP THE AXE and reach bowl eligibility. Location in Chicago for the Big Game Watch party is being finalized and will be updated shortly.

ROAD TRIP: MIDWEST ALUMS @ WAKE FOREST

Midwest alums spread the ground attack to North Carolina in November, as a bunch of us met in Winston-Salem for the Wake Forest game. Alums met with old friends, athletics staff, and the head coach of the Golden Bears.

CAL GAME WATCHES IN CHICAGO ALL FALL

Below is the schedule with results for the fall 2024 season:

Aug. 31 – UC Davis (Chicago game watch party, Cal wins 31-13)
Sept. 7 – at Auburn (Chicago game watch party, Cal wins 21-14)
Sept. 14 – San Diego State (Chicago game watch party, Cal wins 31-10)
Sept. 21 – at Florida State (Chicago game watch party, Cal falls 14-9)
Oct. 5 – Miami (Game watch party, Cal falls 39-38)
Oct. 12 – at Pitt (Game watch, Pittsburgh wins 17-15)
Oct. 19 – North Carolina State (game watch, Cal falls 24-23)
Oct. 26 – Oregon State (Chicago game watch, Cal wins 44-7)
Nov. 8 – at Wake Forest (Chicago game watch, Cal wins 46-36)
Nov. 16 – Syracuse (Game watch 2 pm at Flagship Tavern)
Nov. 23 – “Stanfurd” (Chicago Big Game watch party 2:30 pm CST, location TBD
Nov. 30 – at SMU

TWO UC BERKELEY FACULTY MEMBERS,
TWO ALUMS RECEIVE NOBEL PRIZES

This year’s unveiling of the Nobel Prize recipients once again featured former UC Berkeley teachers and alumni being honored for their work and research.

David Baker Ph.D. ’89 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry) —  A biochemist who worked as a Ph.D. student with professor and fellow Nobel laureate Randy Schekman, Baker shares the prize “for computational protein design.” His research group, as this UC Berkeley article explains, has produced proteins that can be used as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials, and tiny sensors.

Gary Ruvkun ’73 (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) — A geneticist, Ruvkin shares the prize “for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.” This new class of tiny RNA molecules play a crucial role in gene regulation and are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.

James Robinson (Prize in Economic Sciences) — An economist and political scientist at Berkeley from 1999 to 2004, Robinson co-won the award for research on why some nations are rich and others poor. By examining the political and economic systems introduced by European colonizers, he and his fellow laureates have demonstrated a relationship between institutions and prosperity.

John Hopfield (Nobel Prize in Physics) — A physics faculty member from 1961–64 and now a biophysicist, Hopfield shares the prize “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” He created a structure that can store and reconstruct information.

MIDWEST ALUMS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST EVER ESPN GAMEDAY IN BERKELEY

A crowd of more than 3,000 Cal faithful gathered at Cal's Memorial Glade on the Saturday morning of 10/5/24 to attend the first-ever appearance of ESPN's College GameDay at Berkeley prior to the Bears' game against Miami.  Many had been there since the gates had opened earlier at 12:00AM Saturday.  The hosts of the show helped to lead several Cal chants and cheers to the delight of the Cal crowd.

One of  the highlights of the morning was when Cal sophomore Daniel Villasenor won $100,000 in the field-goal kicking contest with a successful kick of over 30 yards between the uprights that won him the prize.  ESPN said that they would also make a $600,000 donation for Hurricane Helene relief. Former Cal great running back Marshawn Lynch served as the celebrity guest college game picker. 

Host Reese Davis later said that the Cal contingent was "one of the best crowds we've hadin terms of just being loud and engaged". 

MIDWEST ALUMS PARTICIPATE IN
CAL ALUMNI MENTOR PROGRAM

In 2023 the Cal Alumni Association launched the Alumni Mentor Program, where alums are able to connect with students and recent graduates who are looking for assistance in beginning their careers. Cal Alumni Club of Chicago members have been actively taking part in this program in its infancy, offering career advice and introducing students who are interested in exploring certain career activities. This program has been recognized as a particular benefit to those students who might be the first in their families to attend college, or come from an underserved secondary school environment.

To get involved you can visit the link above or go to the Berkeley Career Network, which manages the program.

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.