The University of California, Berkeley has announced a $5 million gift from Freada Kapor Klein ('74) and her husband, Mitch Kapor, to help increase diversity in STEM fields.

The gift will support scholarships for SMASH (the Summer Math and Science Honors academy) program alumni to attend UC Berkeley and participate in SEED (Stem Equity and Excellence in Diversity) Scholars, an honors program focused on supporting and inspiring historically marginalized populations majoring in all STEM fields. SMASH is a three-year residential STEM college prep program created by the Kapors nearly twenty years ago.

"When the project connects with the students' lived experience, with what they see and what they can do, they feel empowered to make a difference while having a great career. That is so motivating and just life-changing," said Mitch Kapor. "We've seen that so many times. Extending that from SMASH academy into the undergraduate experience through the SMASH-SEED connection is just a logical extension of what we’ve been doing for decades."