John Mason’s Ceramics Class Fall 1968 April 22, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Faculty, Student Life.Tags: Ceramics, John Mason, Studio Art
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Legendary ceramics artist John Mason taught at UCI from 1967-76 and then again in 1987. He was the Chair of Studio Art from 1974-1976. Recent attention to his work occurred in Pacific Standard Time exhibits throughout Southern California and in the current exhibit of his landmark piece 21-foot-long Blue Wall (1959) at the Laguna Art Museum. In the Fall of 1968, the UCI Studio Art faculty consisted of Robert Irwin, Craig Kaufman, Tony de Lap, John Mason and Philip McAleer. John Mason taught Ceramics 86A that quarter, a class for freshmen and sophomores. Below are photographs from that class.
Get Ready for Celebrate UCI! April 18, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Anteaters, Campus Scenes, Photographs, School spirit, Student Life, University Archives, Zot!.Tags: Aldrich Park, Anteaters, Celebrate UCI, celebrations, students, UC Irvine, Wayzgoose
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This Saturday, April 20th, the UC Irvine campus will hold its annual Celebrate UCI event in Aldrich Park. This campus-wide celebration includes live entertainment, carnival games and rides, lots of food, arts & crafts, performances, the annual car show (15 years running!), and Wayzgoose, one of UCI’s oldest traditions. The festival also features an Open House, where many campus services will remain open in order for prospective students and the community to learn about the UCI campus. All events are free and parking is complimentary!
This celebration has been a campus favorite for decades. Here are some photos of Celebrate UCI and Wayzgoose festivals from the 1980s:
These photos and more are available to view in our reading room at Special Collections and Archives, on the 5th floor of Langson Library. They will soon be available online via the Online Archive of UCI History, which documents the first 50 years of the campus in photographs, videos, audio recordings, publications, the New University newspaper, and other publications. Check back often, as new materials are continuously being added.
Check out this video of last year’s celebrations, and get ready for another great year of Celebrate UCI!
Photos from AS-061, UCI Communications Photographs Collection. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Discover UCI April 12, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Anteaters, Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Photographs, Student Life, University Archives, Zot!.Tags: Aldrich Park, Anteaters, Chancellor Aldrich, Photographs, students, UC Irvine, University of California Irvine
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We’d like to give a warm welcome to the newly admitted freshmen and their families who are visiting UCI this week! Here is a slideshow of students discovering the new UCI campus in the 1960s (looks a bit different now, doesn’t it?):
These images, along with thousands more, are available at the Online Archive of UCI History. The site also features videos (like the quirky Wot ZOT?), interviews with founding faculty members, and the New University student newspaper, with more coming soon!
First Campus Landscaping in 1965 and 1966 March 13, 2013
Posted by ucisca in University Archives, Photographs, Early UCI Campus, Campus Scenes.Tags: Aldrich Park, Central Park, Campus Landscaping, Coulson Tough, Gene Uematsu
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Coulson Tough (Left, Campus Architect) and George Uematsu (Right, Landscape Architect) inspect new plants for the campus in August 1965.
The two people primarily responsible for the early campus landscaping that has resulted in the wide variety of trees and plants that we now enjoy on campus were Coulson Tough (Campus Architect) and Gene Uematsu (Landscape Architect). The photographs (below) of the grounds preparation and the new campus landscaping were taken in 1965 and 1966.
Aldrich Park (formerly Central Park) being prepared for new landscaping in 1965.
New lawn and trees just planted on campus in 1966.
Gateway Study Center (left) and Langson Library (right) with new trees in 1966.
Early Photographs of Mesa Court in 1965 March 12, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Photographs, Student Life, University Archives.Tags: Fall 1965, Mesa Court
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Mesa Court was the first residence hall community at UCI, opening with the campus in the Fall 1965. It is now the largest student community on campus, housing 1,834 undergraduates in 29 residence halls. Each hall accommodates between 54 and 71 residents in suite-style layout. Mesa Court houses mainly first year students. [University Communications Photographs. AS-061]
Mesa Court (left foreground) and campus construction in early 1965.
Mesa Court construction in January 1965.
First phase of Mesa Court construction about to conclude, later in 1965.
Move in day in September 1965, as the campus opens.
Check-in on move in day, September 1965.
Move-in day, September 1965.
View of Mesa Court in the distance from Langson Library roof, with Gateway Study Center (left foreground), but before the Student Center and Aldrich Hall were built.
UCI Welcome Week in 1990 September 26, 2012
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Photographs, School spirit.Tags: Welcome Week
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A few photographs of UCI Welcome Week in Aldrich Park in 1990.
AS-061. University Communication Photographs. Special Collections and Archives, the U.C. Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Box 147.
Truman Capote on Campus in September 1977 September 21, 2012
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Photographs.Tags: Truman Capote
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American author Truman Capote (1924-1984) was born Truman Streckfus Persons on September 30, 1924. Capote, best known for Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958), and In Cold Blood (1966), was on the UCI campus in September 1977, and graciously signed copies of his books at a campus reception.
Truman Capote signing at a reception in 1977.
AS-061. University Communication Photographs. Special Collections and Archives, the U.C. Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Box 131.
Ayala Science Library groundbreaking August 10, 2012
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes.Tags: Ayala Science Library, Francis J. Ayala, James Stirling, Michael Wolford
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Shovels, hats and an architectural model patiently await the groundbreaking ceremony for the Science Library at UCI. The James Stirling and Michael Wilford designed building opened in 1994. In April 2010, the Science Library was renamed the Francisco J. Ayala Science Library in recognition of the world-renowned UCI evolutionary biologist’s considerable scientific achievements and contributions to the campus.
AS-061. University Communication Photographs. Special Collections and Archives, the U.C. Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Box 144.
Christopher Reeve and the Reeve-Irvine Research Center August 7, 2012
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes.Tags: Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, Joan Irvine Smith, Reeve-Irvine Research Center, Robin Williams
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In January 1996, philanthropist Joan Irvine Smith proposed to actor Christopher Reeve, best known for his film role as Superman, that they collaborate with UCI to launch a fund-raising effort toward the establishment of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, one of the few spinal cord research centers in the nation. Smith offered to start the effort with a $1 million donation from her foundation. Mr. Reeve, who in 1995 had suffered an equestrian accident that left him paralyzed, agreed to help. On July 20, 1996, the Christopher Reeve Celebrity Polo Classic was held at the Oaks Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, and benefited the research center. Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana joined Joan Irvine Smith, UCI Chancellor Laurel Wilkening and about 500 other people on September 13, 1996 in dedicating the a new building where the Reeve-Irvine Research Center is housed. On September 14, 1996, at a benefit dinner at Mission San Juan Capistrano, actors/celebrities Robin Williams, Joan Rivers and Jane Seymour were among 560 guests at another fundraiser that was part of a week-long equestrian event, the Oaks International. Williams directed the auction at the event.
All of these, and other fundraising efforts helped to establish the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, which is now one of the nation’s leading facilities for spinal cord research. Christopher and Dana Reeve remained committed to helping for the rest of their lives. Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004 from complications from his 1995 spinal cord injury. Dana Reeve died on March 6, 2006 from lung cancer.
Christopher and Dana Reeve [As-061. Box 144]
Joan Irvine Smith and Chancellor Laurel Wilkening (right) [AS-061. Box 144]
Signed poster for the Christopher Reeve Celebrity Polo Classic on July 20, 1996
Christopher and Dana Reeve on a tour of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center [AS-061. Box 144]
Robin Williams at a benefit dinner for the Reeve-Irvine Research Center [AS-061. Box 144]
Aldrich Park dedicated on June 6, 1984 July 30, 2012
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Photographs.Tags: Dan Aldrich, Aldrich Park, Central Park, Thomas F. Riley
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When the campus opened on October 4, 1965, the partially completed park in the middle of campus was called Central Park. It remained Central Park until 1984 when it was renamed Aldrich Park, in honor of Daniel Aldrich, who retired in 1984 after twenty-two years of service as UCI Chancellor. The renaming of the park was only one of numerous events that took place in the Spring of 1984 in honor of the retirement of our first Chancellor. The dedication of the 21-acre Aldrich Park occurred on June 6, 1984. Below is a photograph of Daniel Aldrich with former Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley (left) at the dedication ceremony.
AS-061. University Communication Photographs. Special Collections and Archives, the U.C. Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Box 144.
