The Rausser College of Natural Resources (RCNR), or Rausser College, is the oldest college at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and in the

University of California system The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, the system is composed of its ten campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Ri ...

. Established in 1868 as the College of Agriculture under the federal

Morrill Land-Grant Acts The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally owned land, often obtained from Native American tribes through treaty, cessi ...

, CNR is the first state-run

agricultural experiment station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with ...

. The college is home to four internationally top-ranked academic departments: Agriculture and Resource Economics; Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology; and Plant and Microbial Biology, and one interdisciplinary program, Energy and Resources Group. Since February 2020, it is named after former

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

and distinguished professor ''

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Gordon Rausser Gordon Rausser is an American economist. He is currently the Robert Gordon Sproul Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Dean Emeritus, at Rausser College of Natural Resources and more recently, a professor of the graduate school at the University ...

after his landmark $50 million naming gift to the college.

History

Plans for the creation of this public university were first developed at the 1849 Constitutional Convention, but when the State of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

was established in 1850, it lacked the funds necessary to create such a school. Missionaries sent west by the Home Mission Society of New York, however, created the

College of California A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

and eventually transferred its ownership to the State in 1855. By 1862, the State had secured the land necessary to establish a college as a result of the Morrill Act. This college was known as the Agricultural Mining and Mechanical Arts College, and opened formally in 1866. On March 23, 1868, Governor H.H. Haight combined the resources of this college with the College of California to create the first

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. The Board of Regents began admitting women to the University of California in 1871, and the first woman to graduate was Rosa L. Scrivner, with a PhB in Agriculture. On February 29, 2020, former dean

made a $50 million dollar donation to the college, which then changed its name to the Rausser College of Natural Resources in honor of the gift.

Campus

Located on the northwest end of the

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

campus, the college comprises six main buildings. These include the historic group of Wellman, Hilgard, and Giannini halls that composed the original college. This trio, known as the Agriculture Complex, is the most unified grouping of buildings on campus. They are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and are visually unified by a Mediterranean landscape of olive and stone pine trees. The first hall, Wellman Hall, was designed under

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

in 1912 by

John Galen Howard John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 – July 18, 1931) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at several firms in both states and employed Julia Morgan early ...

. It was named after Harry R. Wellman, professor of agricultural economics and acting president of the university. Hilgard Hall was constructed six years later by the same architect, and it was named after Eugene W. Hilgard, professor of agricultural chemistry and father of modern soil science. Its neoclassical design is inscribed with the phrase "''To Rescue for Human Society the Native Values of Rural Life''." Giannini Hall was designed by Howard's co-worker William Charles Hays through an endowment from the Bancitaly Corporation (now known as

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

) in memory of their founder,

Amadeo Giannini Amadeo Pietro Giannini (), also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A. P. Giannini (May 6, 1870 – June 3, 1949) was an American banker who founded the Bank of Italy, which eventually became Bank of America. Giannini is credited as the inventor of ...

Departments

# ''Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE)'' researches global food production, nutrition and health, development economics,

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

environmental economics Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues. It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical ...

, applied econometrics, policy evaluation, energy economics, natural resource economics, and international trade. Admissions to ARE's graduate program are highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of 8.8%. ARE offers one undergraduate major,

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.S.) in Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP). Starting in the 2025-26 academic year ARE is chaired by Sofia Villas-Boas. #''Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM)'' is the largest department within Rausser College, with three interrelated divisions Ecosystems Sciences, Organisms and Environment, and Society and Environment divisions. Research, teaching and outreach themes include biosphere/critical zone, biodiversity/dynamic environments, stewardship and environmental changes, and humanity and future earth. Admissions to ESPM's graduate program are highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of 8.75%. ESPM graduates may earn a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Forestry, or a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in Range Management. ESPM also offers five undergraduate majors: Conservation and Resource Studies (CRS), Environmental Sciences (ES), Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR), Molecular Environmental Biology (MEB), and Society and Environment (SE). ESPM is chaired by George Roderick. # ''Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology (NST)'' researches the function of nutrients, phytochemicals, toxicants, and the metabolic interaction of these elements in living organisms in order to inform recommendations for dietary patterns to achieve optimum health and the treatment or prevent of chronic disease conditions. NST offers doctoral degrees in Molecular and Biochemical Nutrition, as well as in Molecular Toxicology. The department oversees one undergraduate major program in Nutritional Sciences, with specialized tracks in Physiology & Metabolism, Dietetics, and Molecular Toxicology. NST is chaired by Andreas Stahl. # ''Plant and Microbial Biology'' encompasses theoretical and applied research in ecology,

computational biology Computational biology refers to the use of techniques in computer science, data analysis, mathematical modeling and Computer simulation, computational simulations to understand biological systems and relationships. An intersection of computer sci ...

, genomics, host-microbe interactions, physiology, and biochemistry. It offers a

in Plant or Microbial Biology, and oversees two similarly named undergraduate major programs. PMB is chaired by John Coates. # ''Energy and Resources Group (ERG)'' provides education and research for a sustainable environment and a just society. ERG is a collaborative community of graduate students, core faculty, over 100 affiliated faculty and researchers across the campus, and nearly 500 alumni across the globe. Degrees include MA, MS, and PhD. Beginning in the 2017-18 academic year, ERG is chaired by

Daniel Kammen Daniel Merson Kammen (b. 1962) is an American scientist, renewable energy expert, and former government figure. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Energy in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, a ...

Research

Centers

* Berkeley Food Institute * Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity * Berkeley Water Center * Center for Diversified Farming Systems * Center for Effective Global Action * Berkeley Forests * Energy Biosciences Institute * Plant Gene Expression Center

Facilities

* Biological Imaging Facility * Geospatial Innovation Facility * Gill Tract * Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy Facility * Oxford Facility Unit

References

External links

* {{authority control University of California, Berkeley Environmental research institutes Agricultural research institutes in the United States Sustainable agriculture Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in California Research institutes in the San Francisco Bay Area Environmental studies institutions in the United States