First Off . . .

Robert Middlekauff resigned from the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens after four years as its director. Effective Jan. 1, 1988, he will become a professor of history at UC Berkeley, where he previously spent 21 years as a professor and administrator. R. Stanton Avery, chairman of the Huntington's board of trustees, noted Monday that during Middlekauff's tenure, the Huntington retired its deficit and raised $6 million in cash and pledges during an endowment campaign, plus $7.5 million in deferred gifts. A search for Middlekauff's successor is currently under way.