|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home > Resources > 40th Anniversary > Remembrances CAMPUS MEMORIES  “On July 23, 1964, my family traveled to Southern California to see the construction of the new UCI campus. (Of course, Disneyland was on our itinerary as well.) My uncle, Edward Steinhaus, was founding dean of the School of Biological Sciences and was there to oversee activities from the start. In the photo my sister, Diane Steinhaus (the one with the ears), and I pose in front of the emerging campus. I later left boxing and decided to pursue the sciences, graduating from UCI with a degree in biological sciences. After graduate work, I returned to UCI and am now clinical professor and genetic counselor in the Division of Human Genetics at UCI Medical Center.”
– Kathy Steinhaus French ’81 “At first blush, it seems impossible that 40 years have gone by. But, I can tell you that Irvine and my teachers had the impact of making my life and the lives of those around me much more enjoyable. One of the fun moments was being in the bleachers on barren hills when the campus was dedicated. President Johnson was there, Governor Pat Brown was there, Joan Irvine was there, and overseeing everything was Dan Aldrich. John Spears asked me to be president of the alumni association, and I thought it would be another experience to be enjoyed. Most of the enjoyment came from meeting a great bunch of people and learning from them. Watching the Irvine campus become stronger and better as an academic institution has been a thrill, especially from the perspective of having seen what was once rolling hills of grass. I hope UCI never forgets how much they owe to Joan Irvine and Dan Aldrich and the great first faculty.” – Jack McCue ’68 “What a wonderful experience those days were: UCI was small and intimate, yet had all the wonders of a big university. I was very active in campus politics and extra-curricular activities. As the founder – and the one who came up with the name – of UCI’s first festival, the Wayzgoose Medieval Faire, I am particularly gratified that this event has endured. UCI was a very special place with innovative programs and classes, innovative faculty and wondrous adventures! My experiences at UCI changed my life and path forever, for which I will be eternally grateful.” – Mickey Novak ’74, M.S. ’75 “I came to UCI in 1969 from East Los Angeles Community College. Even in those early years, UCI had top-quality faculty and without a doubt a great chancellor. The first dean of the School of Social Sciences was James G. March. A renowned authority on quantitative methods, he also taught an introductory class to freshmen. I sat in a lecture hall with 200 (or so) other students and marveled at his skills as a lecturer. In one lecture, he took a bank robber’s options and charted out a decision tree to calculate the probability of getting away with the loot. The point was not the robbery but the method. The example made it unforgettable.” – Jaime M. Avila, ’71 “It was the end of September 1969, O (for Orientation) Week, and I was sitting all alone in my room upstairs in Puente one night. My roommate hadn’t arrived yet. I was a freshman with no car, and my only entertainment option was the clock radio. Gee, college is a lot of fun. I was just sitting there feeling awfully lonely and sorry for myself when I heard the unmistakable sound of a bagpipe, and it was coming closer! Sure enough, there was a bagpiper wending his way through Mesa Court like the Pied Piper. I went out and joined the crowd, and we wandered all over the campus (it had a whole lot more open space back then). I had a ball that night, and it changed my whole outlook about college life.” – Kit Hope ’74 “I recently drove by a park in my Clearwater, Florida, neighborhood and saw a strange metal basket and chains hanging from a pole. When I discovered that it was part of a 18-hole disc (Frisbee) golf course, I got out my old Frisbee and tried it out. The experience tapped into a wonderful memory. It was spring 1980, and I was immersed in UCI computer science coursework towards my B.S. degree. I was working full time at Mattel Electronics as a game programmer for Intellivision – now a classic game system – while spending part of the rest of my days and late evenings in courses and the computer lab at UCI. While living in Huntington Beach, I traveled to Mattel’s Hawthorne headquarters as well as UCI on the 405 freeway. It was a very exciting, but stressful time in my life. Then one day I discovered the Frisbee golf course at UCI. I had never seen anything like it, and the joy of throwing my Frisbee across the lawns of the campus was both exhilarating and freeing. I guess I really never forgot that moment. Now playing on a disc golf course reminds me of that wonderful time in my life.” – Richard S. Levine ’81 “When I entered UCI in the fall of 1978, much of the campus was still surrounded by cattle pastures. With all that open land, there were many strange micro-climates around. One I passed through nightly when walking from the library to Mesa Court we called the ‘Valley of Death.’ I remember crossing into an instant chill and a misty fog on this pathway next to the Administration Building that descended a grassy hill. But I had only one quarter to pass through it. In January 1979, they broke ground on that site for the first phase of the Student Center – the Valley of Death became the center of student life!” – Barbara Gyepes Giammona ’82 “I came across an old VHS tape ‘UCI – The Music Video.’ The song ‘UCI’ was written by two of us, Rob Mitchell and Clyde E. Gaines II (both class of ’88), as a comedic take on attending UCI. We performed ‘UCI’ and other original music at various on-campus venues and events. This quirky music video was created for a class project in a beginning UCI video production class in 1987. The video and music are posted here: http://liquidsoapdispenser.com/uci.” – Rob Mitchell ’88 “The beautiful view of Aldrich Park and the campus overlooking from physical sciences; enjoying a beer at the pub with good friends after class; walking backwards while giving a tour of the campus.” – Jonathan Fu ’05 Back to 40th Anniversary Index |
|
)
The late Kevin Magee was a two-time, first team All-American in 1981 and 1982.
)
Wayzgoose Medieval Faire, Aldrich Park, 1980
Remember when... Share your campus memories by sending an e-mail to UCI40@uci.edu
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
