Special Collections - Anteater Antics

UC Irvine

A Look Back on Clayton Garrison

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Staff at UCI Special Collections and Archives were sad to learn that Clayton Garrison, founding dean of UCI’s School of Fine Arts, passed away on July 27, 2015. Garrison once recalled in 1974 that he was attracted to Irvine because it was an “opportunity to initiate, in a new situation, a program that was different from any other programs in the fine arts on a University of California campus.” And so, when he joined UCI in 1964, he set out to build a “studio- and performance-centered” fine arts program at the undergraduate level.

To him, “starting a whole school involving art, dance, drama, music, and film with only five faculty members was a rare opportunity.” Garrison recruited some of the top artists in their field to join the School of the Fine Arts’ founding faculty including Eugene Loring who was appointed Chairman of Dance, and who introduced ballet as a study in the University of California curriculum. Robert Cohen, who Garrison directed in a Shakespeare play at UC Berkeley, was appointed chair of UCI’s Drama Department. In 1964, Garrison appointed John Coplans as Director of the University Art Gallery. Coplans, editor for Artforum magazine, was well connected with the contemporary art world, and he influenced Garrison by suggesting new faculty recruits. One of the first art professors Coplans recruited was Tony DeLap, and the faculty grew to include Larry Bell, Ed Bereal, Vija Celmins, Ron Davis, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Philip Leider, John Mason, Ed Moses, Barbara Rose, and Alan Solomon.

Garrison also invited renowned artists, including David Hockney and Roy Lichtenstein, to serve as guest lecturers and teachers at what he believed was a truly interdisciplinary fine arts program.

Garrison served as dean of the school for its first 17 years, during which he did everything from direct plays, operas and musicals, to choreograph stage, teach, help establish UCI’s esteemed M.F.A programs, and more. After retiring as dean, he spent nine years teaching acting and running UCI’s month long Music Theater Program in New York. The projects that Garrison helped produce at the School of Fine Arts, now known as the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and beyond were well-received with high praise from the campus and region alike.

Prior to his appointment at UCI, Garrison was Chair of the Department of Drama and Vice Chair of the Division of Humanities at UC Riverside. He also taught at UC Santa Barbara and the Laguna College of Art + Design.

The UCI Special Collections and Archives is pleased to house Clayton Garrison’s collection documenting his work in theater at UCI, New York, and internationally.

Gateway Plaza

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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

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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.

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Sam McCulloch speaking at student rally supporting UC President Clark Kerr in Gateway Plaza, 1967

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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.

Get Ready for Celebrate UCI!

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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!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hw-c0dxxoI&w=560&h=315]

Photos from AS-061, UCI Communications Photographs Collection.  Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.

Discover UCI

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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!

Happy Birthday Ansel Adams

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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.

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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

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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!

Coach Bill Mulligan

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Bill Mulligan was head coach of the UC Irvine basketball team for 11 seasons (1980-1991). During that time he led the Anteaters to the 1982 and 1986 National Invitation Tournament and was named the 1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Coach of the year. Mulligan coached at six schools in Southern California during his career and had eight players pursue professional basketball careers in the NBA. He was inducted to the UC Irvine Athletics Hall of Fame and in 1995  and  the Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Coach Bill Mulligan died on January 12, 2010 at the age of 79.

University of California, Irvine, University Communications Photographs. AS-061.  Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.