UCI celebrates 40th birthday

This year, as UC Irvine marks its 40th anniversary, the university is

doing what many people do when they hit the big 4-O: looking back at

achievements, looking forward to the future and throwing a big party.

With the theme “40 Years of Innovation,” a six-month celebration

was launched at June’s commencement, and this fall the party’s in

full swing with a series of events and a guest list that includes the

entire community. Coming attractions include:

Sept. 29 -- The Fabulous Thunderbirds

UCI will plug in the amplifiers for a free concert featuring the

blues-rock group the Fabulous Thunderbirds. The concert will be held

in Aldrich Park on Thursday, starting with a food fair and student

entertainment at 5 p.m. The Thunderbirds go on at 6:30.

“We encourage everyone to bring three things: a blanket,

comfortable beach chairs and, in case the urge hits you, a pair of

dancing shoes,” said Sheila Hayden, chair of the concert committee.

Admission and parking after 4 p.m. are free. For directions, visit

o7www.uci.edu/campusmapf7. Information: (949) 824-5252

Nov. 3 -- “Designing UCI” Symposium

The UCI Libraries presents a public symposium at 4 p.m. Nov. 3 in

the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

“Designing UCI: Celebrating Forty Years of Innovation” covers

three major topics: “Building a University-Centered City in Irvine,”

with remarks by Ray Watson, former president of the Irvine Co.; “A

Design for Academic Excellence,” with James McGaugh, founding

director of UCI’s center for the neurobiology of learning and memory;

and “Campus Architecture,” with Rebekah Gladson, UCI’s campus

architect. Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Michael Gottfredson

will reflect on UCI’s past and offer projections for the future.

Admission is free; reservations are requested by Oct. 25.

Information: (949) 824-5300

Oct. 12 and Nov. 16 -- University Club Forums

UCI’s early days also will be the focus of two University Club

talks. In “Recollections of a Dean of Humanities,” Oct. 12, Samuel

McCulloch, professor emeritus, will discuss his work as founding dean

of humanities. “Forty Years of Enormous Change and Impressive

Consistency,” on Nov. 16, features William Parker, a faculty member

since 1967 and key administrator since 1976. He will discuss the

university’s academic, administrative and physical development.

Both forums begin at noon. The $10.25 lunch service opens at 11:15

a.m.; reservations are requested. Information: (949) 824-7960.

UCI FACTS

* On June 20, 1964, when President Lyndon Baines Johnson

helicoptered in for the dedication of UCI, the new campus scarcely

resembled the lushly landscaped collection of buildings it is today.

Surrounding Johnson were the open fields of the Irvine Ranch and the

foundations of buildings still to come. Students hadn’t arrived yet,

and wouldn’t for 15 months.

* When UCI opened for classes Oct. 4, 1965, there were just 1,589

students and 119 faculty members. Today, there are more than 24,000

undergraduate and graduate students and 1,400 faculty members.

* UCI has grown from the original eight buildings encircling

Aldrich Park to 170 buildings spread over 1,400 acres. From a terrain

bereft of vegetation, the campus has become an urban forest of more

than 15,000 trees.

* UCI’s first students were trailblazers in the truest sense of

the word. In the early years, they plodded through dust to the

campus’s only dining hall. When it rained, they “surfed” on food

trays down the muddy slope from the fine arts construction site.

Founding Chancellor Dan Aldrich told them he wouldn’t build concrete

paths for a while: “First I want to see where you walk,” he said.

* SUSAN MENNING is assistant vice chancellor of communications at

UC Irvine. She can be reached at [email protected].