The
University of California, Irvine (
UCI or
UC Irvine) is a
publicA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
coeducational research university founded in 1965, located in
Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 69.7 square mile city has a population of about 212,793...
.
UC Irvine's name originated from the
Irvine CompanyThe Irvine Company is a privately held real estate development company based in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.-Operations:The Irvine Company develops suburban master-planned communities throughout central and southern Orange County. In addition, it owns and manages office buildings in...
, which donated for a single dollar and sold another to the University of California. In 1971, the University of California and the Irvine Company planned a city around the campus, which was incorporated as the city of Irvine.
UC Irvine's location is in the heart of
Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
, serving the fifth most-populous county in the United States. UCI also maintains the UC Irvine Health Sciences system with its flagship UCI Medical Center in the
city of OrangeThe City of Orange is located in Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately 3 miles north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in that many of the homes in its Old Town District were built prior to 1920; whereas many other cities in the region demolished such houses...
, the
University of California, Irvine, ArboretumThe University of California, Irvine, Arboretum is a 12 acre botanical garden and arboretum, located north of the University of California, Irvine campus. It is near the corner of Jamboree Road and Campus Drive in Irvine, California, USA, and adjacent to the 200 acre San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh...
, and a portion of the
University of California Natural Reserve SystemThe University of California Natural Reserve System is the largest and most diverse system of university-administered reserves in the world. The University of California NRS manages 35 wildland sites, which encompass about and include examples of most of California's ecosystems...
. UC Irvine is also a
Public IvyPublic Ivy is a term coined by Richard Moll in his 1985 book Public Ivies: A Guide to America's best public undergraduate colleges and universities to refer to universities which "provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Public Ivies are considered, according to the...
.
Early years
The University of California, Irvine was one of three new campuses established in the 1960s under the
California Master Plan for Higher EducationThe California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 was developed by a survey team appointed by the UC Regents and the State Board of Education during the administration of Governor Pat Brown. Clark Kerr, then the President of UC, was a key figure in its development...
with the
San DiegoThe University of California, San Diego is a public research university located in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States...
and
Santa CruzThe University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
campuses. During the 1950s, the
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
saw the need for the new campuses to handle both the large number of college-bound
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veterans (largely due to the G. I. Bill) and the expected increase in enrollment from the
post-war baby boomThe end of World War II brought a baby boom to many countries, notably those in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. There is some disagreement as to the precise beginning and ending dates of the post-war baby boom, but it is most often agreed to begin in the years immediately after the war,...
. One of the new campuses was to be in the Los Angeles area; the location selected was Irvine Ranch, an area of agricultural land bisecting
Orange CountyOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
from north to south. This site was chosen to accommodate the county's growing population, complement the growth of nearby UCLA and UC Riverside, and allow for the construction of a master planned community in the surrounding area.
Unlike other University of California campuses, UCI was not named for the city it was built in; at the time of the university's founding (1965), the current city of Irvine (established in 1975) did not exist. The name "Irvine" is a reference to
James Irvine-James Irvine I:James Irvine was born in County Down, Ireland on December 27, 1827, the second to the youngest of nine children. When Ireland's potato crop failed in 1845, James Irvine and his younger brother William were among those who left for the United States. Irvine worked for two years in...
, a landowner who administered the Irvine Ranch. In 1960, The Irvine Company sold of the Irvine Ranch to the University of California for one dollar, since a company policy prohibited the donation of property to a public entity. The University purchased an additional in 1964 for housing and commercial developments. Much of the land that was not purchased by UCI (which is now occupied by the cities of Irvine,
TustinTustin is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2009, the city had an approximate total population of 74,825. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the Tustin Foothills...
,
Newport BeachNewport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, United States south of downtown Santa Ana. As of January 1, 2009, the population was 86,252. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Newport Beach lies within the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area...
, and
Newport CoastNewport Coast was a census-designated place until 2001, in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 2,671 at the 2000 census, although the population is estimated to be around 7,500 as of 2007 and could reach 9,000 in 2008. Buildout could be reached in 2010. The master-planned...
) is now held under The Irvine Company. During this time, the University also hired
William PereiraWilliam Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...
and Associates as the Master Planner of the Irvine Ranch area. Pereira intended for the UC Irvine campus to complement the neighboring community, and the two grew in tandem. Soon after UC Irvine opened in 1965, the City of Irvine became incorporated and established in 1971 and 1975, respectively.
UC Irvine's first Chancellor,
Daniel G. AldrichDaniel G. Aldrich, Jr. was chancellor of UC Irvine from 1962 to 1984 and then continued as Acting Chancellor at the University of California, Riverside from 1984 to 1985.-External links:* *...
, developed the campus' first academic plan around a College of Arts, Letters, and Science, a Graduate School of Administration, and a School of Engineering. The College of Arts, Letters, and Science was composed of twenty majors in five "Divisions": Biological Sciences, Fine Arts, Humanities, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences (which transformed into the present-day "Schools"). Aldrich was also responsible for implementing the wide variety of flora and fauna on the campus that fit the local Mediterranean climate zone, feeling that it served an "aesthetic, environmental, and educational [purpose]."
On June 20, 1964, U.S. President
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 after his service as the Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963...
dedicated UC Irvine before a crowd of 15,000 people, and on October 4, 1965 the campus began operations with 1,589 students, 241 staff members, 119 faculty, and 43 teaching assistants. However, many of UCI's buildings were still under construction and landscaping was still in progress, with the campus only at 75% completion. By June 25, 1966, UCI held its first Commencement with fourteen students, which conferred ten Bachelors of Arts, three Masters of Arts, and one Doctor of Philosophy degree. In 1965 the formerly osteopathic California College of Medicine, the oldest continuously operating medical college in the southwestern US joined to UCI. Over the protests of faculty, the University bowed to pressure from Governor Brown and bought the Orange County Medical Center from the government ending ambitions for an on campus teaching hospital. Intermittent attempts over the years to bring a full medical center to the school itself have been frustrated by many factors.
Present day
UC Irvine itself has grown with its surroundings, with the university earning national acclaim in academia that reflects its status as a nationally-ranked public research university. This fast-paced growth has made UC Irvine the educational and cultural center of Orange County, as well as making a popular translation of the abbreviation "UCI" as "Under Construction Indefinitely". As the second-largest employer in
Orange CountyOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
(the largest employer being
The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
), UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. Its extramural funding, which has shown exponential annual growth, was a record $263 million in 2005.
In 2009, UC Irvine operated 81 undergraduate degree programs and 59 minors as well as 51 master's degree, an M.D., an Ed.D., a J.D., and 44 doctorate programs. At UC Irvine's 2008 Commencement ceremonies, the university conferred 6,887 degrees.
Future growth
As a part of its long-term efforts to "attain flagship status," UC Irvine has implemented construction projects (estimated to cost $1.3 billion over the next decade) that will accelerate the campus build-out and employ the remainder of the university's land grant. The exponential increase in construction activity is a part of the
Strategy for Academic Development at UCI through 2015, a master plan that outlines the vision of making UCI a first-choice university for college applicants nationwide. The university announced the "Shaping the Future Campaign" on Oct. 4, 2008 that focuses a $1 billion fund raising effort on four major strategic initiatives: the environment and sustainable energy, health care, training tomorrow's leaders, and global business and cultural partnerships.
Campus
The layout of the core campus resembles a rough circle with its center being Aldrich Park, initially known as Central Park, and lined up by the Ring Road and buildings surrounding the road. To further emphasize the layout, academic units are positioned relative to the center, wherein undergraduate schools are closer to the center than the graduate schools.
Within Aldrich Park, there are numerous thickly-wooded trees indigenous to the local Mediterranean climate. The very center of the park features a garden and a memorial plaque of UCI's founding. The park itself has a network of paved and dirt pathways shared by pedestrians and cyclists.
Ring Road is the main pedestrian road used by students and faculty to travel around the core campus. The road measures up to a perfect mile and completely encircles Aldrich Park. Most schools and libraries are lined up by this road with each of these schools having their own central plaza which also connects to the Aldrich Park.
Other areas of the university outside of the core campus such as the College of Medicine and the School of Arts are connected by four pedestrian bridges. Beyond the core campus and the bridges, the layout of the campus is more suburban.
Surroundings
Although the campus is located in the city of
IrvineIrvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 69.7 square mile city has a population of about 212,793...
, it is located very close to the city of Newport Beach; in fact, the campus itself is directly bounded by the city of Newport Beach and Newport Coast on many sides. The western side of the campus borders the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve, through which Campus Drive connects UCI to the
405 freewayInterstate 405 is a major north-south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine to near San Fernando...
. The northern and eastern sides of UCI are adjacent to Irvine proper; the eastern side of the campus is delineated by Bonita Canyon Road, which turns into Culver Drive at its northern terminus and offers links to the
San Joaquin Hills Toll RoadState Route 73 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs from Interstate 405 to Interstate 5 through the San Joaquin Hills in Orange County. From its northern terminus, the first three miles of the highway are called the Corona del Mar Freeway; this section of highway...
and
405 freewayInterstate 405 is a major north-south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine to near San Fernando...
, respectively. Additionally, UCI's southern boundary is adjacent to the
San Joaquin Transportation CorridorState Route 73 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs from Interstate 405 to Interstate 5 through the San Joaquin Hills in Orange County. From its northern terminus, the first three miles of the highway are called the Corona del Mar Freeway; this section of highway...
.
There exists a "North Campus" that houses the Facilities Management Department, the Faculty Research Facility, Central Receiving, Fleet Services, the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory, and numerous other functions. It is located next to the
UCI ArboretumThe University of California, Irvine, Arboretum is a 12 acre botanical garden and arboretum, located north of the University of California, Irvine campus. It is near the corner of Jamboree Road and Campus Drive in Irvine, California, USA, and adjacent to the 200 acre San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh...
; both the North Campus and the arboretum are located about from from the main campus.
William Pereira's original street layout for the region surrounding the University had a
wingnutThe wingnuts are plants in the genus Pterocarya in the walnut family Juglandaceae, native to Asia.-Description:...
-shaped loop road as the main thoroughfare, which twice crossed the campus. However, the
Irvine CompanyThe Irvine Company is a privately held real estate development company based in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.-Operations:The Irvine Company develops suburban master-planned communities throughout central and southern Orange County. In addition, it owns and manages office buildings in...
's development plans expanded before it could be completed, and portions of California, Carlson, Harvard and Turtle Rock roads today constitute segments of what would have been the Loop Road.
Despite the suburban environment, a variety of wildlife inhabits the University's central park, open fields, and wetlands. The university has
bobcatThe Bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States. The Bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban...
s, mountain lions,
hawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Europe and Asia, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s,
golden eagleThe Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s,
great blue heronThe Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
s,
peregrine falconThe Peregrine Falcon , also known simply as the Peregrine, and historically as the "Duck Hawk" in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is a large, crow-sized falcon, with a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s,
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
s,
raccoonProcyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Common Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s,
owlThe Owls are the order Strigiformes, comprising 200 birds of prey, species. Most are solitary, and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except...
s,
skunkSkunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul-smelling odor. General appearance ranges from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
s,
weaselWeasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family.Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel...
s,
batBats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than...
s, and
coyoteThe coyote , the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canid found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s. The
UCI ArboretumThe University of California, Irvine, Arboretum is a 12 acre botanical garden and arboretum, located north of the University of California, Irvine campus. It is near the corner of Jamboree Road and Campus Drive in Irvine, California, USA, and adjacent to the 200 acre San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh...
hosts a collection of plants from California and Mediterranean climates around the world. The small rabbits in particular are very numerous and can be seen across campus in high numbers, especially during hours of low student traffic.
Architecture
The first buildings were designed by a team of architects led by
William PereiraWilliam Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...
and including
A. Quincy JonesArchibald Quincy Jones, FAIA was a prolific Los Angeles-based architect and educator known for innovative buildings in the modernist style and for urban planning that pioneered the use of greenbelts and green design....
and William Blurock. The initial landscaping, including Aldrich Park, was designed by an association of three firms, including that of the famous urban-landscaping innovator Robert Herrick Carter. Aldrich Park was designed under the direction of landscape architect Gene Uematsu, and was modeled after
Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, landscape designer and father of American landscape architecture, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City...
's designs for
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's
Central ParkCentral Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
. The campus opened in 1965 with the inner circle and park only half-completed. There were only nine buildings and a dirt road connecting the main campus to the housing units. Only three of the six "spokes" that radiate from the central park were built, with only two buildings each. Pereira was retained by the university to maintain a continuity of style among the buildings constructed in the inner ring around the park, the last of which was completed in 1972. These buildings were designed in a style which Pereira called "California Brutalist", combining sweeping curves and expressionistic shapes with elements of classic California architecture such as red tiled roofs and clay-tiled walkways. These buildings featured an innovative structural design that freed the interiors from support columns in order to allow future alterations of their floor plans.
Construction on the campus all but ceased after the Administration building, Aldrich Hall, was completed in 1974, and then resumed in the late 1980s, beginning a massive building boom that still continues today. This second building boom continued the futuristic trend, but emphasized a much more colorful, postmodern approach that somewhat contradicted the earthy, organic designs of the early buildings. Architects such as
Frank GehryFrank Owen Gehry, CC is a Canadian Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
and
Arthur EricksonArthur Charles Erickson, CC was an internationally celebrated Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:Most of his buildings are modernist concrete structures...
were brought in to bring the campus more "up to date". This in turn led to a "contextualist" approach beginning in the late 1990s, combining stylistic elements of the first two phases in an attempt to provide an architectural "middle ground" between the two vastly different styles. Gehry's building was recently removed from campus to make way for a new building, with a design that has been called a "big beige box with bands of bricks."
As of 2005, the campus has more than 200 buildings and encompasses most of the university's 1,500 acres (6 km²). The campus is in the midst of a $1.1 billion construction campaign.
Libraries and study centers
| Jack Langson Library |
Resources for the Arts, Humanities, Education, Social Sciences, Social Ecology, and Business & Management disciplines |
| Science Library |
One of the largest consolidated science and medical libraries in the nation. Resources for the schools of Biological Sciences, Engineering, Information and Computer Science, Physical Sciences, portions of Social Ecology, and the College of Medicine |
| Grunigen Medical Library |
Located at UCI Medical Center, contains 43,000 volumes of material |
| Libraries Gateway Study Center |
Located across from the Langson Library |
| Law Library |
Located on the bottom two floors of the Law Building |
UCI is noted for having many excellent special collections and archives. In addition to holding a noted Critical Theory archive and Southeast Asian archive, the Libraries also contain extensive collections in Dance and Performing Arts, Regional History, and more. Additionally, Langson Library hosts an extensive East Asian collection with materials in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Nearly all departments and schools on campus complement the resources of the UC Irvine Libraries by maintaining their own reading rooms and scholarly meeting rooms. They contain small reference collections and are the choice for more intimate lectures, graduate seminars, and study sessions. There is also the large Gateway Study Center (across from Langson Library), one of the university's original buildings and under the custody of UC Irvine Libraries. Having served formerly as a cafeteria and student center, it is now a dual-use computer lab and study area which is open nearly 24 hours.
The UCI Student Center offers a large number of study areas, auditoriums, and a food court and therefore is one of the most popular places to study on campus. UC Irvine also has a number of computer labs that serve as study centers. The School of Humanities maintains its Humanities Instructional Resource Center, a drop-in computer lab specializing in language and digital media. Additionally, UCI maintains five other drop-in labs, four instructional computer labs, and a number of reservation-only SmartClassrooms, some of which are open 24 hours. Other popular study areas include Aldrich Park, the Cross-Cultural Center, the Locus (a study room and computer lab used by the Campuswide Honors Program), and plazas located in every School.
Tunnels
An underground network of tunnels runs between many of the major buildings on campus and the Central Plant, with the major trunk passage located beneath Ring Road. Smaller tunnels branch off from this main passage to reach individual buildings, carrying electrical and air-conditioning utilities from the Central Plant. These tunnels have been the subject of much campus lore, the most popular story being that the tunnels were constructed to facilitate the safe evacuation of faculty in the event of a student riot. The main tunnel actually appears above ground in the form of an unusually thick bridge near the Engineering Tower, in an area where Ring Road crosses between two hills.
Governance
Like other
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
campuses, UC Irvine is governed by a Chancellor who has significant authority over campus academic and planning affairs. The Chancellor, in turn, is nominated by and is responsible to the
Regents of the University of CaliforniaThe Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
and the UC President:
- 1962 Daniel G. Aldrich
Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. was chancellor of UC Irvine from 1962 to 1984 and then continued as Acting Chancellor at the University of California, Riverside from 1984 to 1985.-External links:* *...
- 1984 Jack W. Peltason
Jack W. Peltason was the president of the University of California, and former chancellor of the University of California, Irvine.-External links:*http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president*-References:...
- 1993 Laurel L. Wilkening
- 1998 Ralph J. Cicerone
- 2005 Michael V. Drake
Michael V. Drake is an American physician and current chancellor of the University of California, Irvine .-Early years:Drake was born in New York City, and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, until moving with his family to Sacramento, California.-Career:Prior to his appointment at UCI, he had a...
After the Chancellor, the second most senior official is the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. He serves as the university's chief academic and operating officer. Every school on campus reports to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost through a Dean, and all other academic and administrative units report to his office through a Vice Chancellor or chief administrator. A partial list of these units includes Campus Recreation, Intercollegiate Athletics, Planning and Budget, Student Affairs, UC Irvine Libraries, UC Irvine Medical Center, and University Advancement. The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost also governs the faculty senate.
Academics
UC Irvine's academic units are referred to as Schools. There are eight undergraduate Schools, two graduate Schools, one Department, and one field of Interdisciplinary Studies. The most recent academic unit, the College of Health Sciences, was established in 2004. On November 16, 2006, the UC Regents approved the establishment of the School of Law, which opened in fall 2009. The remaining academic units offer accelerated or community education in the form of Summer Session and UC Irvine Extension. Additionally, UCI's Campuswide Honors Program is implementing an independent study program, which will allow students to develop their own curriculum across Schools and graduate with their own self-created major.
Academic units:
- Claire Trevor School of the Arts
The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is the fine arts school at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, CA. The four departments housed in the school are Dance, Drama, Music, and Studio Art. The school has both an undergraduate program as well as a masters program, depending on the area of...
- School of Biological Sciences
- Henry Samueli School of Engineering
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering is the academic unit of the University of California, Irvine that oversees academic research and teaching in various disciplines of the field of engineering...
- College of Health Sciences
- School of Humanities
- Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences
The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, also known as the school of ICS or more formally as the Bren School, is an academic unit of University of California, Irvine , and the only dedicated school of computer science in the University of California system...
- School of Physical Sciences
- School of Social Ecology
- School of Social Sciences
- School of Law
- School of Medicine
The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine is an accredited medical school, located in Irvine, California, that is affiliated with the University of California, Irvine. The current medical school was preceded by an osteopathic school named California College of Medicine and began...
- Paul Merage School of Business
The Paul Merage School of Business is an academic unit of the University of California, Irvine that is charged with academic research in the field of business...
- Department of Education
Department of Education may refer to any of several government agencies:In Africa:* South Africa: Department of Education or the former Bantu Education DepartmentIn Asia:* Hong Kong: Education Bureau...
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Summer Session
- UC Irvine Extension
Research organizations
To complement its mission as a research university, UCI hosts a diverse array of nationally and internationally-recognized research organizations. These organizations are either chaired by or composed of UCI faculty, frequently draw upon undergraduates and graduates for research assistance, and produce a multitude of innovations, patents, and scholarly works. Some are housed in a school or department office; others are housed in their own multimillion-dollar facilities. These are a few of the more prolific research organizations at UCI:
- Beckman Laser Institute
- California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2)
- Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies
- Center for Unconventional Security Affairs
- Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
- National Fuel Cell Research Center
- Reeve-Irvine Research Center
- Center for the Study of Democracy
- Center for Health Policy Research
- W. M. Keck Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
Rankings and distinctions
Many of UCI's graduate programs received top-50 rankings from U.S. News & World Report, earning distinction in literary criticism and theory (1), criminology (4), behavioral neuroscience (5), creative writing (6), health care management (9), organic chemistry (9), information systems (11), drama and theater (12), third-world literature (12), cognitive psychology (13), English (16), psychology – neurobiology and behavior (16), chemistry (18), experimental psychology (19), gender and literature (19), executive M.B.A. (20), cell biology/developmental biology (21), 19th- and 20th century literature (22), psychology – cognitive science (22), sociology (27), aerospace engineering (29), computer science (29), physics (29), mechanical engineering (30), civil engineering (31), biological sciences (32), history (32), environmental engineering (34), fine arts (34), political science (35), business (38), biomedical engineering (40), engineering (41), medicine (41), materials science engineering (45), mathematics (47), psychology and social behavior (47), economics (48), and electrical engineering (49).
UCI's
Master of Fine ArtsIn the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study. In the United Kingdom, a typically requires two years, whereas a is usually one year of study....
degree program in creative writing has graduated such authors as
Richard FordRichard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land, and the short story collection Rock Springs, which contains several widely anthologized stories.-Early...
,
Michael ChabonMichael Chabon is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation," according to the The Virginia Quarterly Review. His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh , was published when Chabon was 25 and catapulted him to literary celebrity...
, and
Alice SeboldAlice Sebold is an American novelist. She has published three books: Lucky , The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon .-Early life:...
. The graduate program in philosophy was ranked 17th in the English-speaking world by the
Philosophical Gourmet Report, while
Chemical and Engineering News ranks UCI fifth (tied with, among others,
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
) in conferring doctoral degrees in chemistry. The Wall Street Journal ranks UCI's Paul Merage School of Business fourth in the nation for information technology.
National Acclaimed Faculty and Nobel Laureates
Three faculty members have been named
National Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
recipients. Additionally, three researchers from UCI's faculty received the
Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
during their tenure at UCI:
Frank Sherwood RowlandFrank Sherwood Rowland is an American Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research is in atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics....
(
ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
, 1995),
Frederick ReinesFrederick Reines was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment, and may be the only scientist in history "so intimately associated with the discovery of an elementary particle and the...
(
PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Prize in literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
, 1995) (deceased), and
Irwin RoseIrwin A. Rose is an American biologist. Along with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.-Biography:...
(
ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
, 2004). Dr. Rowland's Nobel-winning research was conducted exclusively at UC Irvine, along with fellow prize-winner
Mario J. MolinaJosé Mario Molina-Pasquel Henríquez is a Mexican-born American chemist and one of the most prominent precursors to the discovering of the Antarctic ozone hole. He was a co-recipient José Mario Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (born March 19, 1943 in Mexico City) is a Mexican-born American chemist and one...
. Irwin Rose received the Nobel Prize for his work on biological proteins. F. Sherwood Rowland is known for helping to discover CFCs and their harmful effects on the
ozone layerThe ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 93-99% of the sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. Over 91% of the ozone in Earth's atmosphere is present here...
, while Frederick Reines received the Nobel Prize for his work in discovering the
neutrinoNeutrinos are elementary particles that often travel close to the speed of light, lack an electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost undisturbed and are thus extremely difficult to detect. Neutrinos have a minuscule, but nonzero mass...
. UCI is the first public university to have two Nobel laureates (Rowland and Reines) who received their prizes in the same year (1995).
In January 2009, UCI Professor Reg Penner won the
Faraday MedalThe Faraday Medal is a medal awarded by the Institution of Electrical Engineers The bronze medal is awarded without restriction as regards nationality, country of residence...
for his research with nanowires.
Learned societies affiliations:
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(39 members)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for...
(105 members)
- American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club, the Junto...
(7 members)
- American Physical Society
The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen science journals, including the world renowned Physical Review andPhysical Review Letters, and...
(30 members)
- American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is a professional organization representing psychologists in the U.S., with around 150,000 members and an annual budget of around $70m...
(20 members)
- Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine , one of the United States National Academies, is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization chartered in 1970 as a part of the United States National Academy of Sciences. Its purpose is to provide national advice on issues relating to biomedical science,...
(5 members)
- National Academy of Engineering
The United States National Academy of Engineering , a private, non-profit institution that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
(8 members)
- National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code....
(22 members)
Admissions
UC Irvine is categorized by U.S. News and The Princeton Review as "most selective" for college admissions ratings within the United States. It is the fourth-most selective
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
campus on the ratio of admitted students to applicants (behind UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego).
The choice to offer admission is based on the University of California's comprehensive review program. It considers a candidate's personal situation, community involvement, extracurricular activities, and academic potential in addition to the traditional high school academic record, personal statement, and entrance examination scores. While residency is not a factor in admission, it is a factor in tuition expenses, with out-of-state residents spending more annually than California residents. State law prohibits UC Irvine from practicing
affirmative actionThe term affirmative action refers to policies that take race, ethnicity, or gender into consideration in an attempt to promote equal opportunity or increase ethnic or other forms of diversity. The focus of such policies ranges from employment and education to public contracting and health programs...
in its admissions process.
Of the 44,116 high school students that applied to UC Irvine for fall 2009 admission, 18,676 (or 42.3%) were offered admission. UC Irvine for fall 2009 attracted the 3rd largest applicant pool of all UCs. In fall 2008, 95.8% of those students identified with "Eligibility in the Local Context," a statistical indicator that identifies the top 4% of all California high school graduates as eligible for admission to the University of California, who applied to UC Irvine were admitted.
Incoming freshmen predominantly represent the San Francisco Bay Area and the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Imperial. The most popular major for freshmen is a major in the School of Biological Sciences (23.2%), followed by Undecided/Undeclared (16.0%), Social Sciences (15.9%), Engineering (14.5%), Physical Sciences (7.6%), Humanities (7.3%), Arts (4.5%), Information and Computer Sciences (3.7%), Social Ecology (3.5%), and Health Sciences (1.9%). The average high school GPA for accepted freshmen was 4.01. The average SAT I scores were 1866, while the average ACT composite score was 27.
Ethnicity of 2008 enrolling freshmen class
| Ethnicity |
Percent |
| Asian Asian people or Asiatic people is a demonym for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or subregion of Asia...
/Asian American{Infobox Ethnic group|group = Asian American|image =Graduation Rate! align="CENTER" | Bachelor's Degree or More|-| align="LEFT" | Asian Indians| align="RIGHT" | 90.2%| align="RIGHT" | 67.9%|-| align="LEFT" | Filipinos| align="RIGHT" | 90.8%...
|
55.3% |
| Caucasian White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
(includes Middle Eastern) |
21.7% |
Mexican AmericanMexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. They account over 12.5% of the country's population: 28.3 million Americans listed their ancestry as Mexican as of 2006 forming about 64% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The United States is home to the second largest Mexican...
|
11.5% |
| Spanish American A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States with ethnic origins in the southwestern European nation of Spain.Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565....
|
3.6% |
| No response or Unknown |
3.5% |
African AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
|
2.0% |
| Other |
2.2% |
American IndianNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
|
<1% |
Student life
UCI's history as part of a preplanned suburban community, combined with the tendency for some students to go home on the weekends, gives Irvine a reputation as a quieter college town or a commuter school. However, there are a number of opportunities for vibrant and exciting social outings, so long as students take the initiative and have access to an automobile. In fact, most of the students live on or around campus. There are also many storied traditions at UCI, which have helped the young university develop a strong sense of campus spirit and personality.
Greek life
UCI's Greek Life began in 1975 and continues today as a very active and growing community. There are two major overhead bodies on the campus that govern the Greek Life, Inter Fraternity Council and The Panhallenic Council. The IFC governs over the thirteen chapters which are considered Greek by the National Inter Fraternity Council (
NICNIC may refer to:Banking and Insurance* NIC, National Insurance Company Limited, the leading Insurance Company in Pakistan* NIC, National Insurance Corporation Limited, the leading provider of insurance and risk management services in Uganda...
).
The UCI IFC is composed of a board of an executive board and two delegates from each of the chapters represented on the campus. The executive board is intended to keep track of changes and take care of bureaucratic matters, while the delegations as a group make final decisions on everything done within the IFC.
Major events in the Greek system include Rush Week (Welcome Week), Greek Songfest, and Greek Week.
Fraternities and sororities
Multicultural
- Alpha Epsilon Omega
- Alpha Gamma Alpha
- Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
- alpha Kappa Delta Phi
alpha Kappa Delta Phi is the largest Asian-American interest sorority. It was founded at the University of California, Berkeley in the Fall of 1989.-History:...
- Delta Lambda Chi
- Lambda Theta Delta
Lambda Theta Delta , also known as LTDs, is an Asian-Interest Fraternity established in 1983 at the University of California, Irvine. Lambda Theta Delta is the first Asian-American Interest Fraternity to be founded at the University of California, Irvine....
- Lambda Theta Nu
Lambda Theta Nu is a Latina-based Greek letter intercollegiate sorority founded on March 11, 1986 at California State University, Chico.- Purpose :...
- Kappa Zeta Phi
- Phi Zeta Tau
- Pi Alpha Phi
Pi Alpha Phi is an American university-level fraternity. It was founded in 1929 at the University of California, Berkeley. Pi Alpha Phi is the first Asian-American Interest Fraternity...
- Sigma Delta Alpha
Sigma Delta Alpha, Fraternity Inc. is a Latino-based Fraternity established in the West Coast of the United States. Founded in 1992, the Brothers of Sigma Delta Alpha continue to strive for excellence in supporting each other academically, socially, and personally...
- Sigma Omicron Pi
The sisterhood of ΣΟΠ was founded in 1930 to further the awareness of women in Asian culture. As strong women participating in various social, academic, and community activities, ΣΟΠ maintain the objectives of unity, friendship, leadership, and community service established over 70 years...
- Tau Theta Pi
Tau Theta Pi is a sorority founded at the University of Southern California in 1998.-Mission Statement:It is the ardent desire of the honorable women of Tau Theta Pi to form and maintain a genuine sisterhood that exemplifies moral excellence, strength, versatility, and open-mindedness...
- Zeta Phi Rho
Zeta Phi Rho is a fraternity with nine chapters in southern California. This fraternity focuses on developing a diverse group of brothers committed to its philosophy - commitment to character, leadership, academics, and the community.- Philosophy :Zeta Phi Rho, Inc...
North-American Interfraternity ConferenceThe North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...
- Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Jewish college fraternity, has 140 active chapters in the United States and Canada, and a membership of over 8,000 undergraduates. Alpha Epsilon Pi is a Jewish fraternity, though non-discriminatory and open to all who are willing to espouse its purpose and values...
- Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi...
- Kappa Sigma
ΚΣ is an international fraternity with currently 231 active chapters and 30 colonies in North America. There have been more than 245,000 initiates, of which more than 188,000 are living and more than 12,900 are undergraduates...
- Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social and secret fraternity with 108 chapters and 12 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania in 1848 and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
(FIJI)
- Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity is an American collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Psi was founded in 1852 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Jefferson College by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore...
- Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is an international secret social Greek-letter college fraternity. It was founded at 47 West Range at the University of Virginia in the United States on Sunday evening, March 1 1868.-History:...
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, it is the only fraternity founded in the Antebellum South still in operation...
- Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is one of the largest and oldest college Greek-letter social fraternities. Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Chi has seven founding members: Benjamin Piatt Runkle, Thomas Cowan Bell, William Lewis...
- Sigma Lambda Beta
Sigma Lambda Beta is a Latino based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance cultural...
- Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate social college fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
- Sigma Phi Epsilon
ΣΦΕ , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a secret letter, social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
- Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi is an international college social fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Like most social fraternities, membership is by invitation and limited to men...
- Triangle Fraternity
Triangle Fraternity is a social fraternity, limiting its recruitment of members to male students majoring in engineering, architecture, and the physical, mathematical, biological, and computer sciences...
National Panhellenic ConferenceThe National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...
- Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Epsilon Phi is a sorority and member of the National Panhellenic Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1909 at Barnard College in New York City by seven Jewish women; Helen Phillips Lipman, Ida Beck Carlin, Rose Gerstein Smolin, Augustina "Tina" Hess Solomon, Lee Reiss Leibert, Rose...
- Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are more than 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
- Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi fraternity for women founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Its celebrated Founders Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha Phi the Greek letter Phi is pronounced "Fee". It is a common misconception that this...
- Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888. With 138 chapters in the United States and Canada it is one of the largest women's organizations in the world....
- Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
- Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta is an international sorority that was founded on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The term "sorority," meaning sisterhood, was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.The four founders are Helen M. Dodge,...
- Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Kathys, is an international women's fraternity founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. Kappa Alpha Theta was the first Greek-letter women's college fraternity...
- Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a college women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted on October 13, 1870 as Founders Day, because no earlier charter date could be determined...
- Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, and is known as the first fraternity for women. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330...
- Phi Sigma Rho
Phi Sigma Rho is a social sorority for women in science and engineering. The sorority was founded in 1984 at Purdue University by two young women. The first chapter of Phi Sigma Rho was installed on September 24, 1984, with 10 charter members.-History:...
- Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
National Pan-Hellenic CouncilThe National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities...
- Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
- Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Alpha Phi Alpha has initiated over 185,000 men into the organization and has been open to men of all races since 1940...
- Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913, at Howard University by twenty-two young women. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority...
- Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
ProfessionalProfessional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study...
- Alpha Epsilon Delta
Alpha Epsilon Delta is a U.S. health preprofessional honor society. The organization currently has more than 144,000 members within 186 chapters at universities throughout the United States, making it the world's largest Honor Society serving all students from different backgrounds in the pursuit...
- Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
- Delta Sigma Pi
ΔΣΠ ' is a co-ed professional business fraternity in the United States of America. It was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...
- Pi Psi Chi
- Phi Alpha Delta
ΦAΔ , or PAD, is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 270,000 initiated members. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents...
- Phi Delta Epsilon
- History :In October 1904, Aaron Brown and eight of his friends founded Phi Delta Epsilon at Cornell University Medical College. During the first decade of this century there were many doors closed to Jewish medical students and physicians, doors which would not fully open until after World War II...
Clubs and Organizations
UCI has over 400 student clubs representing the following categories: multicultural,
performanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people behave in a particular way for another group of people . Sometimes the dividing line between performer and the audience may become blurred, as in the example of "participatory theatre" where audience...
, political, religious,
serviceCommunity service is an act by a person that benefits the local community. People become involved in community service for many reasons: for some, serving community is an altruistic act, for others it is a punishment....
,
socialThe term Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, recreational, special interest, academic and
internationalInternational or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries...
.
Residential accommodations
UC Irvine has a number of residential options for students interested in living on campus. Approximately 36% of UCI students are housed in university accommodations; 3,300 live in freshmen residential dormitories, approximately 4,000 other undergraduates live in apartment/theme community housing, and 1,542 living units are available for graduate students and their families. Part of UCI's long-range development plan involves expanding on-campus housing to accommodate 50% of all UCI students.
The on-campus housing communities for undergraduates are: Mesa Court, Middle Earth, Campus Village, Arroyo Vista, Vista Del Campo, and VDC Norte. Graduate students are able to live on campus in Palo Verde, Verano Place, Vista Del Campo, and VDC Norte.
There are 42 houses located in Arroyo Vista and 38 are currently in use; 4 are under renovation and will be open again in the summer. There are 8 sorority and 4 fraternity houses that are located in Arroyo Vista. The sorority houses are Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Pi Beta Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Kappa Alpha Theta. The fraternities in Arroyo Vista are Sigma Phi Epsilon, Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Some of the themed houses include the Rosa Parks House, Casa Caesar Chavez, International Peace and Conflict Studies, International Village, and Sage. Arroyo Vista also has many academic themed houses such as Campuswide Honors Program, Engineering, Information and Computer Science, Humanities, and Sociology.
Arroyo Vista houses first, second, third, fourth, and fifth-year undergraduates all in the same community, in complexes that may be called houses, but have dorm-like qualities. For instance, there are H.A.'s present and the rooms are all doubles, but meal plans are not mandatory and there are no suites. Vista del Campo and Vista del Campo Norte are just up the road from AV, and are apartment-style, but still run by UCI, so there are still many regulations and C.A.'s make rounds at night daily. VDC Norte, or simply "Norte" for short, has single rooms and double rooms for undergraduates; one common layout in an apartment in Norte has one double and two singles to an apartment. VDC has single rooms for undergraduates in the form of single, double, triple, or quad room occupancy with shared bathrooms in one apartment. Within every eight minutes, ASUCI Shuttles transport student residents to and from the UCI campus.
Off-campus housing options vary widely, given a student's preferred living arrangements and budget. However, a common denominator for off-campus apartment housing in
IrvineIrvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 69.7 square mile city has a population of about 212,793...
and nearby
Newport BeachNewport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, United States south of downtown Santa Ana. As of January 1, 2009, the population was 86,252. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Newport Beach lies within the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area...
,
TustinTustin is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2009, the city had an approximate total population of 74,825. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the Tustin Foothills...
, and
Costa MesaCosta Mesa is a suburban city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 116,479 as of January 1, 2009 . Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a suburban city with an economy based on retail, commerce and light...
is the fact that most accommodations are maintained by The Irvine Company. UCI offers off-campus housing search assistance and roommate listings through its student housing office.
Athletics
UCI's sports teams are known as the Anteaters. They participate in the
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
's Division I, as members of the
Big West ConferenceThe Big West Conference is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the "Pacific Coast Athletic Association" . After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped...
and the
Mountain Pacific Sports FederationThe Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I....
. Their traditional rivals are
Cal State FullertonCalifornia State University, Fullerton, commonly known as CSUF, CSU Fullerton, or Cal State Fullerton, is currently the second largest California State University campus...
,
Long Beach StateCalifornia State University, Long Beach is the largest campus of the California State University system and the second largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
, and UC Santa Barbara.
UCI fields nationally-competitive teams in cross country, track and field, basketball, baseball, volleyball, water polo, and soccer. UCI's renowned baseball program recently returned to UCI, after a period of state funding crises led to its temporary retirement.
UCI athletics has won 26 national titles. The most recent NCAA Division I national title was won by the men's volleyball team on May 9, 2009 against USC (3-2) at Provo, Utah. Prior to that, the most recent championship was won also by the men's volleyball team, on May 5, 2007 against IPFW (3-1) at Ohio State. Other national titles include three Division I men's water polo titles, two baseball Division II titles, three men's swimming titles (Div. II), and six men's tennis titles (Div. II). The 2007 men's baseball team impressed the nation, the Anteaters being one of the Final Four teams left in the College World Series, just six years after the baseball program had been formally re-instated after a ten-year absence. The week of April 20, 2009 was a historical milestone for the UCI athletics program, as both school’s Men’s Volleyball and Baseball squads were simultaneously ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division I polls. This marked the first time ever that UCI possessed two teams ranked No. 1 in the nation, as Baseball garnered the ranking based on Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls, while Men’s Volleyball earned the top spot on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.
The anteater as mascot
The anteater was chosen in 1965 when students were allowed to submit mascot candidates, which would be voted on in a campus election. An undergraduate named Schuyler Hadley Basset III is credited with choosing the anteater and designing a cartoon representation, having been disappointed with other mascots such as a roadrunner, unicorn, and golden bison.
The anteater was inspired by "Peter the Anteater" from the
Johnny HartJohnny Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including five from the National Cartoonists Society, and the Swedish Adamson Award...
comic strip, "
B.C.B.C. is an American newspaper comic strip created in 1958, written and drawn by Johnny Hart until his death in 2007. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras. It is among the longest-running strips by its original creator,...
" Before the voting took place on campus, it is said that the men’s water polo team highly encouraged the students to vote for the anteater as the school mascot. The men’s water polo team promoted the anteater at one of their games, which is said to have increased student’s interest in voting for the anteater. Since it was "original and slightly irrelevant," it became the mascot of UC Irvine after winning 56% of the vote, beating a close second with the choice of "none of the above". The anteaters are not to be confused with the aardvark, an African animal that also eats ants. The anteater has grown to become a beloved mascot, and is the inspiration for many of UCI's
athleticUC Irvine's Athletics program participates in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The UC Irvine Anteaters is the nickname used for the sports teams....
and
campus spiritIn spite of its suburban location and relative youth compared to other traditional universities, the University of California, Irvine has a number of student activities and traditions that make the university a distinct social hub for students...
traditions.
Since the return of baseball in 2002 (the sport was eliminated in 1992 due to state budget cuts), UC Irvine has been ranked as high as #1 in the country in 2009, and has been at the top of the Big West Conference standings, which is considered by some to be one of the top Division I Baseball Conferences outside the major conferences in the country. In June 2007, the UC Irvine baseball team participated in the College World Series for the first time ever in school history. The Anteaters shocked the nation, and made Series history, becoming the first team to ever win two extra-inning College World Series games back-to-back, by beating (and eliminating) Cal State Fullerton (5-4, F/13), followed by nationally ranked Arizona State (8-7, F/10), only to lose their next game to defending National Champions, and well rested, Oregon State, having played a record 31 innings in three days to finish in the Final Four. Furthermore, 8 of the players from the current roster have been selected by major league teams in the 2007 MLB Draft.
School chants and cheers feature the word "zot" which was the noise Johnny Hart's "Peter the Anteater" made while eating ants. A hand signal of the anteater is done by touching the tips of the two middle fingers with the thumb, and sliding the thumb back, making the pinky and index finger the ears and the fingers in the middle the snout of the anteater.
In August 2007, a small stuffed Peter accompanied astronaut
Tracy CaldwellTracy Ellen Caldwell, Ph.D. is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. She specialized in chemistry in college and performed various jobs while at NASA to include working with the Russian Federal Space Agency in Russia, as well as spacecraft communications through her NASA training...
on the
Space Shuttle EndeavourSpace Shuttle Endeavour is one of three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour is the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
mission
STS-118STS-118 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-118 successfully lifted off on August 8, 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center , Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on August 21, 2007.It was the first...
.
Aramark
UC Irvine is the last UC campus that subcontracts its food services. In summer of 2004, UCI signed a contract with
AramarkAramark Limited, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food, facilities, and clothing provider, supplying businesses, courts, educational institutions, health care providers, and armed forces. It is headquartered in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Aramark is the 19th largest employer on...
, a food services corporation, granting it control of nearly all residential dining facilities and restaurants on university property. This includes UCI's three dining halls (Brandywine, Pippin Commons, and Mesa Commons) and three on-campus restaurants (Phoenix Grille, B.C.'s Cavern on the Green, and Bistro by the Bridge).
ASUCIIn spite of its suburban location and relative youth compared to other traditional universities, the University of California, Irvine has a number of student activities and traditions that make the university a distinct social hub for students...
, which is partially responsible for negotiating UCI's food services contract, has justified the decision to offer Aramark its business with the argument that Aramark has pledged to invest millions of dollars into the university's food service infrastructure.
Critics argue that offering one corporation the university's food services contract is a de facto monopoly. It is also argued that the management of food services by Aramark leads to low-quality food and poor customer service, and that support of Aramark condones its poor employee relations record. Many full time Aramark employees qualify for public assistance and rely on
Medi-CalMedi-Cal is the name of the Medicaid program in the State of California. It is jointly administered by the California State Department of Health Care Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services , operating as a Medical Assistance Program under Title XIX of the Social Security...
, low-income housing, and other
social programSocial program may refer to:* Social work* Social programs in Canada* Social welfare provision...
s. Though these workers prepare and serve food on the UC Irvine campus in residential dining halls, they are not afforded the same rights as UC service employees. Aramark Corporation prohibits its workers from
unionizingA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
to fight for higher wages.
Proponents argue that maintaining one entity for food service lowers costs for the University, which in turn lowers costs for students. Also, the fact that food service workers are not UC employees further lowers costs for the university. Furthermore, UCI notes the large investment Aramark is making is in dining infrastructure, which will outlast its current contract and support UCI's long-range development plan.
Law school dean
In hiring an inaugural dean of the
School of LawThe University of California, Irvine School of Law is the law school at the University of California, Irvine. When its first class enters in Fall 2009, it will be the fifth law school in the UC system and the first public law school to open in California in 40 years...
, which opens in 2009, the University approached Professor
Erwin ChemerinskyErwin Chemerinsky is an American lawyer and law professor. He is a renowned scholar in United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure...
, a well known legal scholar in constitutional law and liberal commentator. After signing a contract with Chemerinsky on September 4, 2007, the hire was rescinded by UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake because he felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing" and would not serve the interests of California's first new public law school in 40 years; Drake claimed the decision was his own and not the subject of any outside influence. The action was roundly criticized by liberal and conservative scholars who felt it hindered the academic mission of the law school, and disbelief over Chancellor Drake's claims that it was the subject of no outside influence.
The issue was the subject of a New York Times
editorialEditorials are featured in many newspapers and magazines, usually written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of the publication. Additionally, most print publications feature an editorial, or letter from the editor, sometimes followed by a Letters to the Editor section...
on September 14, 2007. Details emerged revealing that UCI had received criticism on the hire from
California Chief JusticeThe Supreme Court of California is the state supreme court of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco, and regularly holds sessions at its branch offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts....
Ronald M. GeorgeRonald Marc George is the current and 27th Chief Justice of California, where he heads the Supreme Court of California. Governor Pete Wilson elevated George to Chief Justice in March 1996 . He has a B.A. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School...
, who criticized Chemerinsky's grasp of death penalty appeals as well as a group of prominent Orange County Republicans and Los Angeles County Supervisor
Michael D. AntonovichMichael Dennis Antonovich is a Republican member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors...
, who wanted to derail the appointment. Drake traveled over a weekend to
Durham, North CarolinaNot to be confused with the U.K. city Durham.Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake county. It is the fifth largest city in the state by population, with 223,284 residents as of July 1, 2008. Durham County as of July...
, and the two reached an agreement late Sunday evening. On September 17, Chemerinsky issued a joint press release with UCI Chancellor
Michael V. DrakeMichael V. Drake is an American physician and current chancellor of the University of California, Irvine .-Early years:Drake was born in New York City, and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, until moving with his family to Sacramento, California.-Career:Prior to his appointment at UCI, he had a...
indicating that Chemerinsky
would head the UCI law school, stating "Our new law school will be founded on the bedrock principle of academic freedom. The chancellor reiterated his lifelong, unqualified commitment to academic freedom, which extends to every faculty member, including deans and other senior administrators."
UCI Extension
From 2002 to 2007,
Capella UniversityCapella University is a minimum residency, for-profit online university based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Capella Education Company. Capella University offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, information technology, education,...
, a for-profit, on-line institution, paid $500 per student to UCI Extension for each of the 36 students who transferred to Capella. This undisclosed financial arrangement resulted in a total payment of $12,000 to UCI. The payments, first reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, were inadvertently revealed when Jeffry La Marca, a former student of UCI Extension and Capella, filed a
public recordsPublic records is information that has been filed or recorded by local, state, federal or other government agencies, such as corporate and property records...
request for correspondence between UCI and Capella.
UCI continuing education dean Gary Matkin announced the school would end the arrangement by October 31, 2007 and plans to place $12,000 into a scholarship fund for needy students. UCI officials represented that the agreement was legal per Department of Education regulations, however, UCI had tried to hide the payments and the arrangement was frequently criticized as unethical because it raised the possibility that school counselors might make recommendations to students based on financial incentives rather than the student's best interests.
Alleged antisemitism
On November 30, 2007 the
Office of Civil RightsThe Office of Civil Rights is a sub-agency in the United States Department of Education, responsible for ensuring equal access to education and enforcing civil rights in the United States education system....
of the
United States Department of EducationThe United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
issued a report finding "insufficient evidence" for allegations that Jewish students at UCI were harassed and subjected to a hostile environment based on their national origin. The federal agency investigated a total of thirteen alleged incidents of harassment that occurred between Fall of 2000 and December 2006, and determined that five were "isolated acts" that could not be addressed because they were reported more than 180 days after they occurred. Further, the agency considered these acts, which included a rock thrown at a Jewish student, the destruction of a Holocaust memorial display, and various threatening or harassing statements made to individual Jewish students, substantially different in nature as to be unrelated to the eight other recurring acts it investigated, which included graffiti depicting swastikas on campus, events during an annual "Zionist Awareness Week," exclusion of Jewish students during an anti-hate rally, and the wearing of graduation stoles signifying support for
HamasHamas is a Palestinian Islamic socio-political organization which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
or
PalestinianThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
s. The agency ultimately found that none of the incidents leading to the allegations qualified as "sufficiently severe, pervasive or persistent as to interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to participate in from the services, activities or privileges" provided by UCI, and that university officials had acted appropriately in response to each incident. In December 2007, UCI Administration has been cleared of anti-semitism complaints by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
Following a speech by Chancellor Michael Drake at the national Hillel meeting in Washington, D.C. in March 2008, Anteaters for Israel, along with three other Jewish organizations, issued a press release defending Drake and claiming that anti-Semitic activity was "exaggerated." Since then, twenty current and former students issued a statement expressing concern over ongoing issues and Drake's handling of them. UC Irvine's Muslim student association has the reputation of being one of the most conservative in the county.
UC Irvine is currently hosting a two week event titled "Israel: The Politics of Genocide", hosted by the school's Muslim Student Union. Scheduled speakers include
Cynthia McKinneyCynthia Ann McKinney is a U.S. politician and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
and
George GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author and broadcaster, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, and is particularly known for his anti-war views...
. Opponents of the event have described it as anti-Semitic, and have called for Chancellor
Michael DrakeMichael V. Drake is an American physician and current chancellor of the University of California, Irvine .-Early years:Drake was born in New York City, and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, until moving with his family to Sacramento, California.-Career:Prior to his appointment at UCI, he had a...
to condemn both the event and the sponsoring organization. He has declined to do so. One outdoor demonstration at this event included a display with an image of Jewish
HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
victim
Anne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a Jewish girl who was born in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany, and who lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands...
wearing a keffiyah, in an apparent attempt to draw an analogy between her sufferings and the plight of the
PalestiniansThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
in the
Palestinian territoriesThe Palestinian territories are composed of two discontiguous regions, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined. The territories, which were originally contained within the British Mandate of Palestine, were captured and occupied by Jordan and by Egypt in the...
. The pro-Israel campus advocacy group
StandWithUsStandWithUs is a non-profit tax-exempt pro-Israel education and advocacy organization based in Los Angeles. As of 2009, it has branches in Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Michigan, Chicago, Seattle, Orange County, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, the UK, Australia, and Israel.It describes itself as "an...
has described this image as offensive.
Notable UC Irvine alumni
As of 2005, UCI has over 85,000 alumni. As with any major university, many UC Irvine alumni have achieved fame after graduating. These people include athletes (Steve Scott,
Greg LouganisGregory "Greg" Efthimios Louganis is an American Olympic diver and author. He is best known for winning back-to-back Olympic titles in both the 3m and 10m diving events. He is openly gay and has tested positive for HIV....
and 34 Olympians), Broadway, film, and television actors (
Bob GuntonRobert Patrick "Bob" Gunton, Jr. is an American actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, with his best known role as Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption.-Early life:...
,
Jon LovitzJonathan M. "Jon" Lovitz is an American actor, comedian and singer. He is best known for serving as a cast member of Saturday Night Live between 1985 to 1990 and voicing Jay Sherman on The Critic.-Early life:...
), and technological innovators (
Roy FieldingRoy Thomas Fielding is an American computer scientist. He is one of the principal authors of the HTTP specification , and a frequently-cited authority on computer network architecture....
and
Paul MockapetrisDr. Paul V. Mockapetris is the inventor of the Domain Name System.In 1983, he proposed a Domain Name System architecture in RFCs 882 and 883 while at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California....
).
The UC Irvine writing program has produced a number of authors, such as
Michael ChabonMichael Chabon is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation," according to the The Virginia Quarterly Review. His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh , was published when Chabon was 25 and catapulted him to literary celebrity...
,
James McMichael-Life:The Pasadena, California native received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. In 1970 he married his second wife, Phylinda Wallace, a translator, and has two children, Robert and Geoffrey....
,
Robert PetersRobert Louis Peters is a poet, critic, scholar, playwright, editor, and actor born in an impoverished rural area of northern Wisconsin in 1924. He holds a Ph.D in Victorian literature. His poetry career began in 1967 when his young son Richard died unexpectedly of spinal meningitis...
,
Alice SeboldAlice Sebold is an American novelist. She has published three books: Lucky , The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon .-Early life:...
,
Aimee BenderAimee Bender is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal plots and characters.-Biography:Bender received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego, and a Master of Fine Arts from the distinguished creative writing MFA program at University of...
,
Richard FordRichard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land, and the short story collection Rock Springs, which contains several widely anthologized stories.-Early...
,
Yusef KomunyakaaYusef Komunyakaa is an American poet who currently teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers...
and
T. Jefferson Parkerthumb|T. Jefferson ParkerT. Jefferson Parker is an American novelist. Parker's books are police procedurals set in Southern California.-Early life and career:...
. The renown of these writers has contributed to the national reputation of the school's creative writing program. More recent alumni include
Glen David GoldGlen David Gold is best known as the author of Carter Beats the Devil , a fictionalised biography of Charles Joseph Carter , an American illusionist performing from c.1900-1936. He writes in a narrative style, and the book was hailed as a very respectable venture into historical fiction...
,
Maile MeloyMaile Meloy is an American author of fiction. She was born in Helena, Montana, where she was also raised.Meloy graduated from the University of California, Irvine with an M.F.A...
,
Alex EspinozaAlex A. Espinoza is a former National Football League quarterback who played for one season with the Kansas City Chiefs. He went to college at Iowa State after transferring from Cal State-Fullerton...
and
Joshua FerrisJoshua Ferris is an American author best known for his debut 2007 novel, Then We Came to the End. The book is a comedy about the American workplace, told in the first-person plural...
.
Several members of the faculty have been honored with the
NobelThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
and
PulitzerThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
.
In 1995, two UCI Professors earned the Nobel Prize:
- Dr. Frank Sherwood Rowland, Chemistry
- Dr. Frederick Reines, Physics
In 2004, UCI earned its third Nobel:
- Dr. Irwin Rose, Chemistry
Claude Yarbrough (aka Jonathan Pendragon) class of 76. 2 time winner of the Academy of Magical Arts Magician of the Year Award. Named by Magic Magazine as one of the most influential magicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has starred with his partner/wife and UCI graduate, Charlotte Brown (aka Charlotte Pendragon) known together as The Pendragons in over 14 Prime Time TV specials on ABC, NBC and CBS.
Ralph Cicerone, an earth system science professor and former chancellor, is currently president of the
National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code....
. Cicerone has been vocal in raising awareness on the issue of
Global WarmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
. An article in Rolling Stone Magazine, described Cicerone as "
The Hardballer" on the controversial issue.
Faculty members who have taught literary criticism and critical theory at UCI have included Jaques Derrida and
Wolfgang IserWolfgang Iser was a German literary scholar.-Biography:He was born in Marienberg, Germany. His parents were Paul and Else Iser. He studied literature in the universities of Leipzig and Tübingen before receiving his PhD in English at Heidelberg with a dissertation on the world view of Henry...
, and visiting professors in these fields have included
Judith ButlerJudith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is the Maxine Elliott professor in the Departments of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler...
,
Slavoj ZizekSlavoj Žižek is a Hegelian philosopher, Lacanian theoretical psychoanalyst, Marxist political thinker, film theorist, and cultural critic....
,
Giorgio AgambenGiorgio Agamben is an Italian philosopher who teaches at the Università IUAV di Venezia. He also teaches at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris, at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and previously taught at the University of Macerata and at the University of...
,
Barbara JohnsonBarbara Johnson was an American literary critic and translator. She was a Professor of English and Comparative Literature and the Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society at Harvard University...
, Frederic Jameson,
Elizabeth GroszElizabeth A. Grosz is an Australian feminist academic living and working in the USA. She is known for philosophical interpretations of the work of French philosophers Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, as well as her readings of the works of French feminists, Luce...
, and
Étienne BalibarÉtienne Balibar is a French Marxist philosopher. After the death of his teacher Louis Althusser, Balibar quickly became the leading exponent of French Marxist philosophy.- Life and work :...
.
Joseph McGinty Nichol, of the class of 1990, is responsible for directing the
Charlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men. The series was broadcast in the USA on the ABC Television Network from 1976 to 1981 and was one of the most...
films and is the executive producer of the television series The OC.
Aras BaskauskasAras Baskauskas is the winner of Survivor: Exile Island and is the second youngest male winner of Survivor at the time of taping. He is of Lithuanian descent, holding Lithuanian and American citizenship....
, graduated with a degree in Philosophy in 2002 and an MBA in 2004, and played for the UC Irvine Men's basketball team. Aras is the winner of
Survivor: PanamaSurvivor: Panama - Exile Island was the twelfth season of the United States reality show Survivor, and took place in the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama. This location was previously used for Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All-Stars...
. He was the youngest male winner in the history of the show at the time of the taping.
Media references
- In Arrested Development, which is set in UCI's surrounding communities, Tobias Fünke watches a performance of the Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is a creative organization founded by Phil Stanton, Chris Wink and Matt Goldman. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
at UCI's Bren Events CenterDonald Bren Events Center is a 4,984-seat, indoor multi-purpose stadium on the campus of the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California.-Construction and history:...
.
- Neuroscience labs and exteriors of UCI were featured in the science fiction/comedy film Creator
Creator is a 1985 film directed by Ivan Passer, starring Peter O'Toole, Vincent Spano, Mariel Hemingway, and Virginia Madsen. It is based on a book of the same title by Jeremy Leven.-Plot:...
.
- Several of the Futurist
Futurist architecture began as an early-20th century form of architecture characterized by anti-historicism and long horizontal lines suggesting speed, motion and urgency. Technology and even violence were among the themes of the Futurists...
buildings at UCI were involved in the production of the movie Conquest of the Planet of the ApesConquest of the Planet of the Apes , directed by J. Lee Thompson, is the fourth film of the Planet of the Apes series. It explores mankind's future history, as established in Escape from the Planet of the Apes , and is the most violent sequel in the series...
.
- The Engineering Tower is used as the STRATA Headquarters exterior in Saul of the Mole Men, an Adult Swim TV show inspired in part by the Planet of the Apes film series.
- Aldrich Park was shown during the wheelchair chase scene in the Mel Brooks
Melvin "Mel" Kaminsky , better known by his stage name Mel Brooks, is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction...
film Silent MovieSilent Movie is a 1976 comedy film directed by and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, Sid Caesar, Anne Bancroft, Henny Youngman, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, and Paul...
.
- The school was featured in the production of Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper film of the same name. The 2001 film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and features an ensemble cast. The film was a success at the box office and with critics. Soderbergh directed two sequels, Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen in...
. In the movie, the building where the crew steals the EMPThe term electromagnetic pulse has the following meanings:# A burst of electromagnetic radiation from an explosion or a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field. The resulting electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage...
device is actually the Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility located in the College of Medicine.
- Exterior shots of the Langson library were used in the film Poltergeist
Poltergeist is an American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper and released on June 4, 1982. It is the first and most successful of the Poltergeist film trilogy and was nominated for three Academy Awards...
.
- UCI is frequently mentioned in the television series The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
Its executive producer, Joseph McGinty Nichol, is a UCI graduate.
- Commander Chuck Street, a helicopter pilot, traffic reporter for KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a rhythmic-leaning Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz. Known as "102.7 KIIS-FM" and as one of the United States' highest-rated top 40...
and KTLAKTLA, digital channel 31 and virtual channel 5 via PSIP, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
, and local celebrity, landed in front of UCI's Gateway Study Center next to the Administration building lawn to participate in 2004 Wayzgoose celebrations. This stunt was made riskier in light of an unexpected rainstorm that occurred during his landing, which eventually led to the event's cancellation. Commander Chuck also made an appearance at UCI Medical Center in 2006.
- On MTV's America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew, which is often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American television show featuring street dance crews from the United States...
various parts of UCI are shown as the dance crew Kaba Modern is at UCI.
External links