Endorsements for Saving the Historic Anna Head School
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín
“I strongly support their work. We need to preserve Anna Head.”
Rigel Robinson, Berkeley City Council District 7
“By saving Anna Head School, we have a beautiful opportunity to preserve and celebrate our history while potentially bringing new housing or student services to the campus community that so desperately needs it. Addressing the financial challenges at Anna Head could have a significant price tag, and we may need the support of the state or private donors to meet the costs if a viable master plan is to be developed. That is a vision we can all get behind!”
Sophie Hahn, Berkeley City Council District 5
“As we build a vibrant future for our City in partnership with UC Berkeley, we must also preserve exceptional sites that mark our past. Anna Head School is a legacy site with great architectural and cultural significance. I am delighted to support its preservation and the revitalization of Anna Head for the next Century.”
Mark Humbert, Berkeley City Council District 8, UC Berkeley Law Alum
"I join Mayor Arreguin and all of my fellow Berkeley City Councilmembers in valuing the cultural and historic significance of the Anna Head School buildings. Anna Head was a pioneer in women's education, and it is important to honor her legacy. I support efforts to preserve these significant buildings while making space for needed new UC Berkeley student housing."
Kate Harrison, Berkeley City Council District 4
"The Anna Head School adds enormously to the quality of the built environment in Berkeley. As an institution that promoted equal education for girls and women, it also stands as a powerful symbol of women's freedom in an era when that is under attack. As a third-generation woman graduate of CAL, I cannot emphasize enough the need to protect this institution.”
Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Council District 6
"The University of California has an amazing opportunity to preserve the legacy of an important woman who pioneered in the field of education and to preserve an extraordinary building, while forming a close partnership with the community. Every effort should be made to respect our history and use the buildings to serve future generations of students.”
Lori Droste, Berkeley City Council District 8 (Retired)
“An Anna Head project that combines significant new student housing with the preservation and/or on-site relocation of the school's historic structures would be a win-win-win for the City and University communities, Berkeley's architectural heritage, and commemorating Anna Head's role in women's education and empowerment. I would be delighted to see a well-crafted project move forward through State, federal, or private financial support.”
Terry Taplin, Berkeley City Council District 2
“Anna Head represents an important piece of Berkeley’s history at the forefront of gender equality and progressive education. As our community continues to grow and change, it is critical that this history be integrated and highlighted to inspire future generations of students and residents alike.”
Ben Bartlett, Berkeley City Council District 3
“Here’s the thing, if we can preserve our history and build more housing for students, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t support Anna Head School.”
Rashi Kesarwani, Berkeley City Council District 1
“I support the process to identify and develop the best use by the University for the Anna Head property. The property has a rich history and could potentially add much needed housing for students.”
Robert Stein and Jessica Pers, Berkeley Law School Alumni, Attorneys
“My wife, Jessica Pers, and I have been Berkeley residents for over 30 years and live within a mile of the University of California-Berkeley campus. We are also both graduates of the Berkeley Law School, Jessica ’77 and me ’74. Over the past 50 years we have walked by or driven by the brown shingle building which was formerly the Anna Head School countless times. We strongly believe because of its architectural value and its historical significance, the administration of the Berkeley campus should preserve this building and integrate it into the planned structures for student housing and related uses adjacent to the Anna Head School building. In addition to its aesthetic values, preservation of the Anna Head School building into a 21st century campus will provide a vital reminder to current students of history of the Berkeley campus and its surrounding neighbors.”
Michael Traynor, Past Board Chair, The Head-Royce School
"It is inspiring to see the leadership, vision, and friendly collaboration that will enable the preservation of The Anna Head School."
Christopher Adams, Member, City of Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission
“The UC campus and its surrounding community are nowhere more interdependent than in the historical center of undergraduate living south of the central campus. The brown-shingle buildings of the former Anna Head School, some already beautifully restored by the University, deserve complete restoration and protection, for their significance as architecture, for their educational history, and for their continuing contribution to the livability of this neighborhood.”
Crystal Land, Head of School, Head-Royce School
“Anna Head was a pioneer and visionary in college preparatory education for young women--paving the way for the development of The Head-Royce School today. Preserving these historic buildings is an important way to celebrate her legacy!”
Denise Sadder, EdD, UC Berkeley Lecturer, School of Education Doctoral Program, Oakland Unified School Principal and Area Superintendent (retired)
“This is a ‘Sankofa’ opportunity for the City of Berkeley to maintain a part of its history to inform its future. I am an alum and one of the first African-American students to attend the school. By preserving Anna Head School’s past, we will ensure its legacy is passed to future generations.”
Margaretta Lovell, Professor of Art History, UC Berkeley
“Berkeley’s desirability as a place to live and work is integrally linked to the character and history of its built environment. The Anna Head School campus is unique and includes Channing Hall (1892), reputed to be the first shingle style structure on the West coast. It also represents--in the ‘natural’ and ‘informal’ look of its shingle cladding and its rock chimneys and walls--a radical teaching philosophy involving the potential of young women for natural intellectual growth. It is also an eloquent rebuttal to the more formal dressed stone classicisms in use at the time to represent institutional authority. Sustainability experts tell us that the greenest building one can have is the one already on the site, renovated for current standards and uses. It behooves the present to preserve and adapt the past in our built environment to ensure a sustainable and enriched sense of place in the future.”
Dennis Collins, Emeritus Founding Head of School, San Francisco University High School
"As someone who founded a new, private independent school in the early 1970s, I know well the impact that an outstanding, college-preparatory high school can have on its students. For that reason, I believe it is vital to save the legacy of the Anna Head School. For over a century, the school, and its successor Head-Royce School, have prepared generations of students for lives of civic engagement. Preserving Anna Head School reminds us of the importance of quality education for all."
Patricia Adler, Author
“The work of Saving Anna Head School preserves the best of the past while modeling vision and comity for the future. Please incorporate this valuable asset into your plan.”
Linda Gage, Born and Bred in Berkeley
“The Anna Head School is part of the historic social, educational and architectural fabric of the City of Berkeley. The AHS campus represents some of the best of Berkeley architecture. The school’s graduates have contributed mightily to the City and to the UC Berkeley campus. I urge the University to preserve the campus and, as suggested and planned, use it for the benefit of the communities that make up our city.”
Sheila Humphreys, Emerita, UC Berkeley
"As co-chair of UC Berkeley's History of Women project, I greatly value the preservation of the Anna Head School and Anna Head’s legacy as a pioneer in educating young women. This charming historic, brown-shingled building reminds us of our precious Berkeley architectural heritage. As Professor Lovell points out, the most sustainable buildings are those which already exist like this one, which will be renovated as proposedto current standards and much needed space for Berkeley students."
Tom Leonard, Emeritus Professor, Journalism and University Librarian
"Reclaiming buildings that stood for the best of Cal is one of the best ways to make our campus a welcoming place. The bold rescue of Julia Morgan’s Girton Hall a few years ago is one such success. Anna Head is a far more visible sign of an aspiration for equality that runs through Cal’s history. Keep Anna Head as a daily reminder for us all, of what a public university should be".
James T. Fousekis, UC Berkeley Alumnus, Attorney (retired), Steinhart & Falconer
Andy Shanken, Professor, Architecture and American Studies, UC Berkeley