Howard Berman ’62, L.L.B. ’65

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Howard Berman has shown himself to be a supremely effective public servant. He was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1973. During his early years in office, he was named one of the top three state legislators by the National Organization for Women and the number one consumer legislator by the Consumer Federation of California. In the Assembly, he served as the majority leader, chair of the subcommittee on the education budget (Committee on Ways and Means) and co-chair of the Joint Committee on Public Employer-Employee Relations.

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, Berman has served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Budget Committee. He has chaired the Subcommittee on International Operations as well as the Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus.

Berman is a tireless supporter of UCLA and of higher education. As founding advisor to the Manufacturing Technology Initiative, he was instrumental in obtaining critical line item support from the federal government to help fund important projects like the Integrated Manufacturing Engineering Program (IME), IME offers a one-year, multi-disciplinary master of engineering degree in manufacturing and focuses on retraining highly skilled defense engineers to design and manufacture both advanced military systems and competitive commercial products. Berman contributed vision and leadership to his UCLA/industry partnership, which will have a profound effect on Southern California’s defense industry, local economy and the nation’s technological competitiveness in the global marketplace. He has supported innovative curriculum development at UCLA, which has helped the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences produce the type of graduates needed to contribute to the economic growth of the region.

Howard Berman is universally respected for his integrity; even those who disagree with him have total trust in his pledges and commitments. He has made an indelible mark in a variety of legal fields including labor law, foreign affairs and the war against terrorism in the Middle East.