Lunch with Dean Rich Lyons and a barbecue with Senior Lecturer Paul Tiffany, PhD 83, were among the items that helped raise more than $14,000 at the Berkeley-Columbia Gala in September.
The fifth annual gala, held at the Claremont Hotel, attracted the highest attendance ever for the event.
The biggest-ticket item at the auction fundraiser was Tiffany's barbecue dinner and pool party for 20 guests at his Santa Rosa home. The item prompted a bidding war between the Berkeley-Columbia classes of 2010 and 2011, with the class of 2010 winning with a bid of $3,100.
The final bid on the dean's lunch for three at Chez Panisse more than doubled last year's bid, thanks in part to a lively performance and prodding by organizer Steve Hartman, BCEMBA 06. Hartman apparently outperformed a similar show by Lyons himself last year.
The live auction, which raised $8,200, also featured two one-week vacations — on Florida's remote North Captiva Island and in a 16-person cabin near Big Bear Ski Resort. The silent auction, which raised $5,845, included dinners with Columbia professors and getaways in Napa and Berkeley.