University of California Irvine Parent Guide
UC Irvine Major Milestones
1957 Orange County chosen by University of California Regents for new campus site
1958 William Pereira contracted as Master Architect for the UC Orange County campus
1960 The Irvine Company donates 1,000 acres to UC for Irvine campus
1961 UC Regents name Orange County campus “University of California, Irvine”
1962 Daniel Aldrich appointed first Chancellor
1963 The Irvine Company sells an additional 510 acres to UC, priced at $6,500 per acre
1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicates campus
1965 First day of classes (October 4)
1966 First Graduation (June 25)
1967 Agreement signed to make California College of Medicine part of UC Irvine
1984 Jack Peltason appointed UCI’s second Chancellor
1988 National Academies of Sciences and Engineering building opens
1993 Laurel Wilkening appointed UCI’s third Chancellor
1994 The National Research Council ranks UCI’s graduate programs in comparative literature and French 8th and 10th respectively.
1995 Frederick Reines (Physics) and F. Sherwood Rowland (Chemistry) receive UCI’s first two Nobel Prizes
1995 UCI is ranked 48th among all U.S. universities by U.S. News & World Report
1996 UCI elected to the American Association of Universities
1998 Ralph Cicerone appointed UCI’s fourth Chancellor
2000 Governor Gray Davis establishes California Institute for Telecommunication and Information Technology Calit2 at UCI
2002 UCI is ranked 12th among public universities by U.S. News & World Report
2004 Irwin Rose (Chemistry) receives UCI’s third Nobel Prize
2005 Michael V. Drake appointed UCI’s fifth Chancellor
2008 The Beijing Olympics brings UCI athletes’ total Olympic medals earned to 24.
2009 Opening of UCI’s School of Law, California’s first public institution of its kind in more than 40 years.
2009 Men’s Volleyball claims UCI’s first NCAA Championship.
2010 Francisco Ayala wins the 2010 Templeton Prize.
2010 UC Irvine men’s golf team wins the Big West Conference Championship, their sixth league title.
