The Rausser College of Natural Resources (CNR) at the University of California, Berkeley, studies natural and human systems from biological, ecological, economic, and social science perspectives. Issues that CNR engage in include sustainable food systems, obesity, water policy, energy policy, climate change, and the connections between the human genome, diet, and disease. The college consists of several academic units, research centers and field stations.
CNR came to Black Antelope to design a new responsive website on Drupal, design new Information Architecture, build an Intranet for faculty, staff and students, migrate the old site, and to ensure optimal SEO.
Challenge
- Outdated Infrastructure: The existing website was built on an older version of Drupal, making content management cumbersome and limiting functionality.
- Inconsistent Departmental Sites: Multiple departments within the college had disparate web presences, leading to a fragmented user experience.
- Complex Content Management: Managing a vast array of content—news, events, departmental updates—was inefficient and prone to inconsistencies.
- Need for Secure Intranet Access: Internal content needed to be protected and accessible only to campus users.
Solution
Black Antelope partnered with the Rausser College of Natural Resources to redesign and rebuild their website in Drupal. A key focus was developing a scalable architecture that could support multiple departments while providing a consistent user experience and streamlined content management.
We created a flexible design system and modular content structure, allowing individual departments to showcase their unique identities within a cohesive college-wide framework. Content types for news, events, programs, and faculty profiles were structured to reduce duplication and make site-wide updates easier and more efficient.
The new platform also integrated with UC Berkeley’s CalNet authentication system, providing secure access to intranet resources for faculty, staff, and students.
Results
- Modernized Platform: Migrated to the latest version of Drupal for improved performance and long-term sustainability.
- Consistent Design System: Unified visual and structural design across all departments for a seamless experience.
- Improved Content Management: Streamlined workflows reduced overhead and improved accuracy.
- Secure Intranet Access: The new CNR website is integrated with CalNet which is UC Berkeley’s LDAP / single sign-on system. CalNet authentication is required for admins of the Drupal site, as well as students, faculty and staff who have access to their respective areas of the CNR Intranet.
