Good news, everyone! We recently unearthed the transcripts of (former) UC President Clark Kerr’s introduction, welcoming remarks by (former) California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, (former) UC Regents Chairman Edward W. Carter, and (the first) UCI Chancellor Daniel Aldrich, as well as the featured speech by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
President Johnson surprises his security agents by moving into the crowd at UCI site dedication, June 20,1964.
June 20, 1964 is anchored in UCI history as the date of the Site Dedication ceremony. A crowd of 15,000 were in attendance. Only a two lane road led to the campus. The first buildings were still under construction. The campus still consisted mainly of open fields.
The Site Dedication Ceremony film was digitized last year, and we hoped to experience this historic campus event the way only moving pictures can capture. We were elated to watch the video footage, but disheartened to find that we couldn’t hear a single sound.
Although we’re unable to provide the brassy tune of celebration only a French horn could kindle, we now have the transcripts available to read as you stream the video footage on the Online Archive of UCI History!
-
- Aerial view to southwest in late morning, June 20,1964. Soon to be the UCI campus.
-
- President Lyndon B. Johnson steps from helicopter to be greeted by Chancellor Aldrich, President Kerr, Edward W. Carter.
-
- Third Marine Aircraft Band, El Toro, at UCI site dedication on June 20,1964.
-
- View of the crowd estimated at 15,000 at UCI site dedication, June 20,1964.
-
- Left to right: Vice Chancellor Hinderaker, Chancellor Aldrich, President Johnson, UC President Kerr, Governor of California Edmund G. Brown.
-
- Automobiles leaving the campus after UCI site dedication, via University Drive approach MacArthur Boulevard.
Transcripts from AS-004. Central Records Unit records, 1928-1994. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Photos from AS-056. Early Campus Photograph Albums, 1959-1969. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
