Gordon Rausser, professor emeritus in Agricultural and Resource Economics and former dean, has been named UC Berkeley’s 2025 Distinguished Emeritus of the Year by the UC Berkeley Emeriti Association. The award recognizes his exceptional contributions since retiring in 2019—contributions so substantial that colleagues question whether he has truly retired at all.
Rausser’s post-retirement service has been marked by strategic leadership in shaping UC Berkeley’s institutional partnerships and fundraising. He chaired the faculty committee that designed the university’s collaboration with NASA at Moffett Field, presenting recommendations to the Regents and senior leadership that established a vision for research and instructional activities with private partners at NASA Ames. As co-chair of Berkeley’s most successful fundraising campaign, he helped secure over $7.3 billion while making a transformational gift to his own college. His work continues to influence campus innovation strategy through his current pro-bono role advising the Office of Intellectual Property & Industry Research Alliances.
Beyond administrative leadership, Rausser has achieved significant scholarly recognition through his development of a new framework for government policy design, which will be featured in his forthcoming Galbraith Keynote Address at the 2025 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting—among the highest honors in his field. His sustained excellence has also earned him designation as a Berkeley Fellow and the Berkeley Citation in 2020, recognizing contributions that exceed normal standards of excellence and institutional service.