One of the most prestigious teaching awards on the UC Berkeley campus, the Golden Apple Award began in 2003 as a project of ASUC Senator Evan Bloom. With the generous support of Berkeley Hillel and the enthusiastic participation of students, the ASUC awarded the ASUC Outstanding Teaching Award in the spring of 2004 to Professor Darren Zook, who delivered the first "ideal last lecture." The challenge of "If you had one lecture left to give, what would you say?" became a hallmark of the Golden Apple Award each year and framed the central nomination and selection criterion of the award - the professor who teaches each lecture as if it were his or her last.

In 2005 a group of students adopted the ASUC Outstanding Teaching Award and transformed it into the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching. It's first Chair, Andrew Gurwitz, created the autonomous Golden Apple Award Student Committee on Teaching and doubled the award's sponsors, allowing the committee to add a cash prize to the award.

The following year, Chair Sammy Averbach added the generous sponsorship of the California Alumni Association, helping to double the Award's cash prize. Filling the university's largest lecture hall and webcast to even more students online, the Award's "Ideal last lecture" had matured into one of the campus' marquee events.

With the number of student nominations expanding more than 70% each year, the Award continues to grow and embody the voice of a student body eager to acknowledge the dedication and excellence of their best professors.