Carol T. Christ

Carol Tecla Christ (born 1944) is an American former academic administrator. She served as the 11th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, from 2017 to 2024.

Early life and education Christ was born in New York City. In 1966, she graduated with high honors in English from Douglass College, the women's college at Rutgers University. She received an M.Phil. in 1969 and a Ph.D. in 1970 in English from Yale University.

Career In 1970, Christ joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, and was chair of the English department from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, she was appointed dean of humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. She also served as provost and dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. In 1994, Christ was appointed vice chancellor, assistant manager, and provost (and later became executive vice chancellor) at Berkeley. Christ was the highest-ranking female administrator at Berkeley until she returned to full-time teaching in 2000.

Christ became the 10th president of Smith College in 2002.

In May 2016, Christ returned to her role as Berkeley's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (interim), replacing Claude Steele, who stepped down. On March 13, 2017, University of California President Janet Napolitano named Christ as Berkeley's new Chancellor-elect, and three days later, the Regents of the University of California confirmed her appointment. On July 1, 2017, Christ became the 11th Berkeley Chancellor and the first woman to serve in this role, succeeding Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks. She later took other steps in this direction which included moderating a panel on free expression and committing $800,000 to providing security for controversial speakers. In a September 2017 interview, she stated that some students find the concept of free speech objectionable.

Christ is a trustee of Central European University, served on the board of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and was a trustee of Sarah Lawrence College and Dominican University of California.

Christ retired as chancellor in June 2024. She was succeeded by former Haas School of Business dean Richard K. Lyons.

Christ is a member of the Board of Trustees of Rutgers University, her alma mater, having served since July 1, 2024.

Honors Christ was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004 and a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2013. Additionally, she was awarded Yale University's Wilbur Cross Medal in 2007, and in 2011, the American College of Greece awarded her an honorary doctorate.

In 2024 Christ received the Clark Kerr Award for distinguished leadership in higher education from the UC Berkeley Academic Senate.

Personal life Christ's late husband, Paul Alpers, was a scholar of Renaissance English literature and the founding director of Berkeley's Townsend Center for the Humanities until his death in 2013. She has two grown children, Jonathan and Elizabeth Sklute, from a previous marriage, as well as two grandchildren. She currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Selected publications