Former NBA player and Cal Men’s Basketball great Shareef Abdur-Rahim gifted a generous endowment to the Cameron Institute earlier this month. Read more about it in the release below!

 
"Being connected to the Cameron Institute the past couple of years has provided me the chance to see the work that is being done for Cal's student-athletes and the support coming from (Cameron Institute Board Chairman) Bryan Cameron," Abdur-Rahim said. "In all of my close work with athletics, I have not seen anything close to what the Cameron Institute is doing to enhance the student-athlete experience."
 
The gift will go toward the Cameron Institute's mission of being a world-class system for developing student-athletes through three main pillars – career development, community engagement and partnerships, and mental performance and leadership development.
 
"We are incredibly grateful for Shareef and Dee Dee's longstanding support of Cal Athletics and their generous commitment to the Cameron Institute endowment," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "They are tremendous examples of what it means to be Golden Bears and we are excited to receive their support in building the Cameron Institute into the nation's premier department of student-athlete development."
 
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"Cal really prepared us to move on with our lives, professionally," said Dee Dee, a 1997 Cal alumna who became a criminal defense attorney, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. "We left campus with the confidence that we could not just be successful, but that we could thrive in our careers."

"I have immense gratitude for the generosity Shareef has shown the Cameron Institute," said Dr. Marissa Nichols, Director of the Cameron Institute. "As a Cameron Institute Advisory Board member and an important sports industry leader, Shareef has already provided invaluable strategic vision and input as we grow the Cameron Institute. It is special to have his and Dee Dee's philanthropic commitment, too. These transformational gifts are very important toward our ultimate goal of reaching a 40-million-dollar endowment."

Shareef is a part of many Cal fans’ memories of Harmon Gym and now a part of building on the future of the Cal Athletics experience. The G-League President is now helping the current and future Bears that step onto the campus in Berkeley! Thanks Shareef!