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Tuesday, July 11, 2017

New Chancellor Won't Live in Old Chancellor's House at Berkeley

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

When Carol Christ took over as UC Berkeley’s chancellor last week, not only did she become the first woman to occupy the job — she also broke with tradition by deciding not to move into the gated campus mansion made notorious by the costly spruce-up by her predecessor Nicholas Dirks.

More than $1 million was spent in recent years remodeling University House for Dirks and his professor wife, Janaki Bakhle — including $247,000 authorized by former UC President Mark Yudof to renovate the kitchen, paint the place, refinish the floors and install new window coverings.

The university also spent close to $700,000 — 2½ times the original budget — to install a security fence after protesters sprayed graffiti on the house.
Plus, Bakhle swapped nine Persian rugs for six newer ones — at a net cost of at least $90,000.
University House has been home to UC presidents and Berkeley chancellors since 1911 — so why isn’t Christ moving in?

“Because I have a lovely house in Berkeley that I love,” she told The Chronicle’s Nanette Asimov... 


Or maybe Dirks' old house was just that: too old:

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