Gift to College of Environmental Design supports social justice fellowships

The College of Environmental Design announces 10.8 million USD gift from alum Jon Stryker to extend social justice fellowships.

With a historic 10.8 million USD gift to UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design—the largest donation to the college to date—Jon Stryker (MArch 1989) has ensured the successful continuation of the Arcus Social Justice Corps. A fellowship for students who plan to use their education for the public good, Arcus is already having a transformative effect, rippling out from individual fellows to the college as a whole and to the communities they serve.

Stryker is founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, a global grantmaking organization that advocates for social and environmental justice. He says, “My aim has always been to have a direct impact in the world.” 

With an initial gift from Stryker, the Arcus Social Justice Corps launched in 2021 as a pilot program that provides significant financial support to students in any of CED’s master’s degree programs who pledged to work in social justice careers for three years after graduating. CED offers degrees in architecture, city planning, landscape architecture, design, real estate development, and urban design.

“Now, thanks to Jon’s generosity, we are able to develop the Arcus Fellowship beyond its pilot phase and increase the funding package we offer each student. With this additional commitment, incoming Arcus Fellows will be able to attend CED tuition-free. When they graduate, they will be poised to have a profound impact on issues at the intersection of social justice and the built environment,” says William W. Wurster Dean Renee Chow. 

By fully funding tuition and fees, and in most cases offering a stipend for living costs, CED can now ensure Arcus Fellows will graduate without significant debt and enter the workforce able to select jobs based on principles not paychecks.

The first cohort of Arcus Fellows, who graduated in 2022, are pursuing social justice careers at nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and design practices, including Asian Health Services, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission, La Clínica de La Raza, Eden Housing, Equity Community Builders, Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative, MidPen Housing Corporation, Southern California Association of Governments, and the University of New Mexico. They are working to develop affordable housing, design policies to tackle homelessness, restructure food systems, teach the next generation of socially aware designers, and create inclusive neighborhoods.

CED is known globally for its longstanding commitment to design as a human-centered, ethical practice but has not always been able to match that dedication with dollars. Stepping up funding for the Arcus Fellowship enables CED to compete for top students who are committed to catalyzing social change through environmental design.

“The Arcus Social Justice Fellows are dedicated, talented young people who will find a way to do great things no matter what, but this program removes impediments to their success,” says Stryker. “And let me be clear, when they are successful, many others benefit.”