It’s been a very good year

Susan Menning

In its first commencement ceremony on June 25, 1966, UC Irvine

granted a grand total of 14 degrees. But at its 40th graduation on

Saturday and Sunday, the university expects to confer a record 5,151

bachelor’s, 982 master’s and 342 doctoral degrees.

The thousands donning caps and gowns represent communities across

California and countries around the world, and they each have unique

stories to tell and dreams to pursue.

Among the graduates are Rebeka and Niki Morales, mother and

daughter sociology majors walking hand-in-hand, the first in their

family to achieve college educations.

Russian-born Tatyana Martell, who lived in six countries before

coming to the United States at age 20, graduates with honors and a

grant to return to Russia for research and community service through

the Fulbright scholars program.

And senior Deanna Aguirre, diagnosed in her freshman year with a

debilitating autoimmune disease that can make her too weak to carry

her own diploma, earns her degree as well. Demonstrating perseverance

while struggling through various treatments including chemotherapy,

she has studied abroad and in Washington, D.C., and is preparing for

graduate school.

Also among UCI’s graduates are 16 students who have never attended

a class on campus and would hardly recognize their own professors.

They comprise the pioneering class of the University of California’s

completely online degree program -- a master’s of advanced studies in

criminology, law and society. The program’s graduates, who will

receive their diplomas on campus, include police and probation

officers and an Air Force first lieutenant, who logged onto to his

UCI courses from as far away as Kyrgyzstan, bordering China.

The year in reflection

As graduating students reflect on their UCI careers and prepare

for the journey ahead, so does the campus.

UCI’s chancellor of seven years, Ralph Cicerone, was elected

president of the National Academy of Sciences last year and will take

office in Washington, D.C., on July 1 -- the same day the campus

community welcomes new Chancellor Michael V. Drake, the widely

respected ophthalmologist and member of the National Academy of

Sciences Institute of Medicine. His background includes 30 years with

the University of California, most recently as vice president for

health affairs. And he has extensive experience as an administrator

and physician.

UCI celebrated its third Nobel Prize this year. Researcher Irwin

Rose received the chemistry award for his groundbreaking research on

the protein ubiquitin. Rose will speak at the School of Biological

Sciences commencement at 8 a.m. Saturday in Aldrich Park.

This year also saw the naming of three UCI affiliates to the

state’s stem cell oversight board, the Independent Citizens Oversight

Committee. They are Sue Bryant, dean of biological sciences; Oswald

Steward, director of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center; and Tina Nova,

‘76, CEO of Genoptix.

Record-breaking gifts and grants in 2004-05 set UCI on a path for

continued success, including a $30-million gift from entrepreneur and

philanthropist Paul Merage to support endowed chairs, graduate

student fellowships and research in the business school, and a grant

of $40 million to fund a research center for countering threats from

bioterrorism agents and infectious diseases.

The arts at UCI are being enhanced, too, with ground recently

broken on a new plaza designed by artist Maya Lin, best known for the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Scheduled to open this

fall, the plaza will serve as a main entrance to the Claire Trevor

School of the Arts and will provide space for informal gatherings and

outdoor performances.

Construction of the new hospital at UCI Medical Center in Orange

has remained a top priority. UCI will break ground for the facility

later this month, an important step toward providing a world-class

academic medical center for our community. When completed in late

2008, the new hospital will house the latest medical technologies and

strengthen UCI’s ability to provide specialized medical and surgical

treatments.

Celebrating 40

years of innovation

This year’s commencement ceremonies kick off UCI’s 40th

anniversary celebration -- known as “Forty Years of Innovation” --

which will continue through fall. The anniversary observance is an

opportunity for UCI to celebrate its accomplishments and

contributions and to strengthen connections with our neighbors in the

community.

Among the highlights are a free, public symposium and exhibit

opening in November, focusing on the ambitious early academic and

physical planning that laid the groundwork for today’s UCI. A UCI

history website is being developed, and a number of campus and UCI

Medical Center events will add to the celebration. Additional infor-

mation is available at https:// today.uci.edu/resources/40/.

Since its first day of classes on Oct. 4, 1965, UCI has grown, in

partnership with Orange County to become one of America’s premier

public research universities -- a remarkable accomplishment in its

relatively brief history. During that time, important research

discoveries have been made and countless lives enriched and inspired.

Just imagine what the next 40 years could bring.

* SUSAN MENNING is assistant vice chancellor of communications at

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