BERKELEY INSTITUTE ALUMNI

Past participants of Berkeley Institute programming (3+ events) are invited to join our BINST Alumni Association. Through this Association, our alumni foster intellectual friendships, support our work, and continue to think with us.

Eligibility: Past participation in programming as students and a donation of any amount. A donation counts toward membership toward the preceding calendar year or following calendar year, depending on the date given.

Benefits: Invitations to virtual and in-person events, behind-the-scenes updates and more.

SPRING 2026 EVENTS

A Virtual Alum-Led Discussion: Max Weber's "Science as Vocation"
The Alumni Association is excited to read a text from the BI’s Fall 2025 “Enchantment and Disenchantment” -theme programming. In this lecture, Weber offers a sober diagnosis of a disenchanted world, one in which science provides knowledge and technical mastery but cannot supply ultimate meaning. We’ll consider Weber’s argument, as well as our questions that guided last semester’s programming: In a world often described as "disenchanted," why does the longing for wonder, transcendence, and meaning beyond empirical understanding persist?
Friday, March 27th at 9am PT/12pm ET
Facilitated by BINST Alum Frank Ngo

Alumni Association Town Hall
Friday, April 17th at 9am PT/12pm ET
Led by Alumni Association Co-Chairs Marissa de Chanlatte and Frank Ngo

Aesop's Fables ~ Alumni Reading Group 
Friday, May 15th at 12pm PT/ 3pm ET
Led by Dena Fehrenbacher