Gateway Plaza May 24, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Photographs, School spirit, Student Life, University Archives, Zot!.Tags: Aldrich Park, Gateway Plaza, Langson Library, Photographs, students, UC Irvine
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Gateway Plaza has been a central hub of activity on the UC Irvine campus since its opening in 1965. From the flagpoles to the stairs leading into Aldrich Park, this area between Langson Library and Gateway Commons has seen countless protests, speeches, events, memorials, pep rallies and performances by students and community members alike. To this day, this area is a central place for students to congregate and share their ideas. Check out these photos from UCI’s early years:
These images, along with thousands more of the UCI campus, are available on the Online Archive of UCI History. Check back soon for more photos, videos, and publications, as additional material from UCI’s history is continuously being uploaded. As always, even more is available in the University Archives on the 5th floor of Langson Library. Come visit us!
Remembering Sam McCulloch May 15, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Early UCI Campus, Faculty, University Archives.Tags: Chancellor Aldrich, Clark Kerr, Photographs, Sam McCulloch, UC Irvine
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Sam McCulloch
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Sam McCulloch, the founding Dean of Humanities and Professor Emeritus of History at UC Irvine. McCulloch first arrived at UCI in 1964 as one of the founding faculty members and remained an important leader on campus throughout his entire life. He was UCI’s unofficial historian, compiling records, stories, letters, and other historical material for his 1996 book Instant University, which covers the history of the UCI campus from 1957 to 1993. McCulloch also conducted oral history interviews with 97 members of UCI’s prominent faculty and staff from 1967 to 1993, including Chancellors Daniel Aldrich and Jack Peltason, as well as Nobel Laureates F. Sherwood Rowland and Frederick Reines. In 2009, McCulloch donated his faculty papers to UCI Special Collections and Archives, which include correspondence, research notes, clippings, and bibliographies. We at Special Collections and Archives are forever indebted to Sam McCulloch for his commitment to documenting, preserving, and sharing the rich history of this campus.
Numerous interviews from the collection of Samuel McCulloch Oral Histories (AS-033) are available here at the Online Archive of UCI History. Both audio recordings and transcripts of selected interviews are available for use online, and the remaining interviews from the collection will be digitized and added to the Online Archive soon.
The finding aid for the faculty papers of Sam McCulloch (MS-F031) is available here through the Online Archive of California.
Instant University is available for use in the Special Collections and Archives reading room and is also available for check-out.
Sam McCulloch speaking at student rally supporting UC President Clark Kerr in Gateway Plaza, 1967
Sam McCulloch and James G. March speaking with a prospective UCI student, 1965
Photos from AS-061, UCI Communications Photographs Collection; and AS-056, Early Campus Photograph Albums. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Langson Library expansion in February 1969 April 29, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Early UCI Campus, Photographs, University Archives.Tags: Langson Library, Library Unit II., Library-Administration building
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The Library-Administration building (now Langson Library) was one of the eight original buildings that were ready for occupancy when the campus opened in the Fall of 1965. According to the original plan, work began early in 1968 to double the size of the Library-Administration Building for occupancy in the fall of 1969. Photos of the construction of the expanded building (below) were taken in February 1969. Expanding rapidly to keep pace with the equally rapid development of research and graduate instruction, the UCI Library grew from 85,000 volumes on opening (October 1965) to 312,000 volumes by June 30,1969.
Photographs from Early Campus Photograph Albums. AS-056.
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.
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 Campus Scenes, Early UCI Campus, Photographs, University Archives.Tags: Aldrich Park, Campus Landscaping, Central Park, Coulson Tough, Gene Uematsu
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Coulson Tough (Left, Campus Architect) and Gene 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.
Announcing the Online Archive of UCI History February 26, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Early UCI Campus, Photographs, University Archives.Tags: UCI 50th Anniversary, UCI History
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Special Collections & Archives proudly announce the opening of a digital archive of the history of the University of California, Irvine campus.
The Online Archive of UCI History is a digital archive created by the University of California, Irvine Libraries to preserve and make available for research core historical records of the university. Included are audio and video recordings, films, photographs and slides, and publications from 1959 forward. Currently, the Online Archive features:
- 30 oral histories of prominent faculty and staff
- 29 videos and films including the stunning NBC production “Birth of a Campus” (1964) and the funky promotional video “Wot ZOT?” (1974)
- digitized and full-text searchable back issues of the New University from 1968-1993
- over 2100 photographs and slides documenting the campus through 1970 including the popular Early Campus Albums.
This digital archive was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of UC Irvine, but will continue to grow in the coming months and years. The Online Archive of UCI History is a central resource for anyone interested in the history of our unique campus. The site is fully searchable and browse-able by title, date, creator, and subject. Each collection and subcollection includes a summary of its contents, which will help guide researchers who might enter the Online Archive by browsing or through a web search.
Materials for the Online Archive of UCI History were selected in coordination with the University of California, Irvine 50th Anniversary Planning Committee’s Historical Documentation Subcommittee, including chair Michelle Light, former Head of Special Collections, Archives and Digital Scholarship; Julia Lupton, English Professor; Bill Maurer, Research and Graduate Studies Associate Dean, School of Social Sciences; Keith Nelson, History Professor Emeritus; Spencer Olin, History Professor Emeritus; Craig Reem, Public Affairs and Communications Director, City of Irvine; and Zen Yieh, Marketing Account Executive, UC Irvine Extension.
This project would not be possible without the dedicated work of the following staff from the UCI Libraries: Michelle Light, former Head of Special Collections, Archives, and Digital Scholarship; Matthew McKinley, Digital Projects Specialist; Mark Vega, Programmer; Sylvia Irving, Graphic Designer; Shu Liu, Metadata and Digital Resources Librarian; Audra Eagle Yun, Acting Head of Special Collections and Archives; Alix Norton, Archives Assistant and Digitization Coordinator; Ron Matteson, Library Assistant; and multiple student assistants.
Happy Birthday Ansel Adams February 20, 2013
Posted by ucisca in Early UCI Campus, Photographs, Uncategorized.Tags: Ansel Adams, Langson Library, Photographs, UC Irvine, University of California, University of California Irvine
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Ansel Adams at Langson Library. Photograph by Richard Schlesinger, 1966.
On this day in 1902, the great Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco, California. In 1966, less than one year after UCI admitted its first students, Adams came to photograph the distinctive buildings on the Irvine campus. This was part of a project commissioned by UC President Clark Kerr to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the University of California in 1968. The photographs were published in the commemorative book, Fiat Lux, and are currently in the California Museum of Photography, Sweeny/Rubin Ansel Adams Fiat Lux Collection at UC Riverside.
Ansel Adams getting his beard trimmed. Photograph by Liliane De Cock, ca. 1966.
Here Adams is shown having his beard trimmed by Nancy Newhall, who wrote the accompanying text for his photographs in Fiat Lux as well as numerous other books.
Photos from AS-061, Box 128. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
The First UCI Men’s Basketball Game: December 1, 1965 January 28, 2013
Posted by ucisca in School spirit, Anteaters, Zot!, University Archives, Photographs, Student Life, Early UCI Campus, Athletics.Tags: Anteaters, UC Irvine, Photographs, University of California Irvine, Basketball
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It’s basketball season! The very first UCI basketball game was held over 47 years ago in December, 1965. The Anteaters played the Highlanders of UC Riverside in Campus Hall (now Crawford Hall), where Chancellor Dan Aldrich and UCR Chancellor Ivan Hinderaker tipped off to begin the game. The ‘Eaters went on to win the game with a score of 85 to 71! ZOT ZOT!
Good luck to the men as they play Cal Poly this Wednesday January 30th, and to the women as they play Pacific on Thursday January 31st!
