University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the City of Los Angeles. It is the second-oldest campus of the University of California as well as the largest university in the State of California.
History
UCLA was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch of the University of California" on Vermont Avenue in the City of Los Angeles. It is the second-oldest campus in the University of California system. In 1927, the school was renamed the "University of California at Los Angeles"; the word 'at' was officially replaced by a comma in 1958, in line with other UC campuses. Also in 1927, the state broke ground at a new campus on the chaparral-covered hills of a real estate development called Westwood. The first classes were held in 1929 in the four original buildings on the 400 acre (1.6 km²) campus.
Campus
Today the campus comprises some 163 buildings across 419 acres (1.7 km²) in the western part of Los Angeles, north of the Westwood shopping district and just south of Sunset Boulevard.
The campus is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus, which are both on the eastern half of the university's land. North Campus is the original campus core and its buildings tend to be more old-fashioned in appearance and are usually completely sheathed in brick. North Campus is home to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and business programs. North Campus is centered around tree-lined Dickson Plaza, which has appeared in many movies such as The Nutty Professor.
South Campus is newer and has a dense concentration of high-rise concrete buildings with occasional brick ornaments. South Campus is home to physical sciences, mathematical sciences, engineering, and the Center for Health Sciences.
Undergraduate housing is concentrated in four high-rise towers on a ridge on the western side of the campus, which is called "the Hill". Ackerman Union (the student union) and athletic facilities like Pauley Pavilion fill the shallow valley in the middle of the campus. The Hill is linked to North Campus and South Campus by a heavily traveled pathway called Bruin Walk. Several construction projects are in progress, including new housing facilities.
The university also owns a high-rise office tower called UCLA Wilshire Center on Wilshire Boulevard in the Westwood area, one mile (1.6 km) to the south. All off-campus administrative functions are housed in UCLA Wilshire Center, including the Office of the Chancellor.
Academics
Organization
UCLA is organized into the following schools and colleges:
- College of Letters and Science
- School of the Arts and Architecture
- Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
- The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
- School of Law
- The Anderson School of Management
- School of Public Policy and Social Research
- School of Theater Film and Television
- The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
- Neuropsychiatric Institute
- School of Nursing
- School of Dentistry
- School of Public Health
The five health-related schools above, plus the UCLA Medical Center and associated research and treatment centers are collectively known as the UCLA Center for Health Sciences (CHS).
Rankings
UCLA has a distinguished academic program. Of the 36 Ph.D. programs examined by the National Research Council, UCLA had 33 rank in the top 20 in terms of faculty quality. 12 departments were ranked in the top 10:
- History (6)
- Geography (8)
- Political Science (8)
- Psychology (4)
- Sociology (5)
- Anthropology (8)
- Chemistry (9)
- Aerospace Engineering (10)
- Physiology (4)
- Philosophy (6)
- Linguistics (3)
- Classics (9)
Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Bruins, with colors powder-blue and gold. (Note the parallel to Cal's Golden Bears, with colors Yale Blue and "gold"—in practice yellow.) The Bruins participate in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Pacific Ten Conference.
Powder Keg Blue Football Uniforms - When Red Sanders came to UCLA for the 1949 season he redesigned the uniforms. Sanders added a gold loop on the shoulders -- the UCLA Stripe. The Navy Blue was changed to a lighter shade of Blue. Sanders figured that the lighter Blue would look better on the field and in film. He would dub the uniform -- Powder Keg Blue -- powder blue with an explosive kick. Over a quarter of a century later, Sports Illustrated would proclaim the UCLA home Football Uniforms the best looking uniforms in college football.
As of 2004, UCLA has 94 NCAA championships, more than any other school. Among these championships, the most notable ones are the mens basketball championships. Throughout the rich UCLA basketball history, 11 basketball championships have been won ('64, '65, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, 75, '95). Having the record of most basketball championships is not the only incredible record possessed by UCLA basketball. From 1971 to 1974, UCLA mens basketball won an incredible 88 straight games, a record that many sports experts consider unbreakable. Past rosters of UCLA basketball teams have been filled with basketball greats such as Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Reggie Miller. Although recent Bruins basketball teams have been average at best, the recent hiring of Bill Howland as the head coach is a sign of good things to come and the return to basketball prominence.
UCLA enjoys a traditional rivalry with the nearby University of Southern California.
Traditions and Events
Each Spring, the Tau Beta Pi honor society is a part of "Engineers' Week" activities that include engineering project demonstrations, paper airplane and egg dropping contests and a campus-wide trivia treasure hunt. TBP CA Epsilon
The Los Angeles Times Book Fair, also held on campus in the Spring, is the largest annual gathering of publishers and authors in the country.
Spring Sing is a yearly show of student talent held at the LA Tennis Center which is on campus.
Humor
As a result of UCLA's and USC's long rivalry, the two institutions have developed a large number of jokes about each other. Since USC is private and UCLA is public, a very popular joke is that USC stands for "University of Spoiled Children."
UCLA has been jokingly called the "University of Caucasians Lost in Asians", referring to its very large population of Asian American students.
Peripheral Enterprises
Unlike its siblings in the UC system, UCLA is unusual in that it operates two major enterprises that are somewhat peripheral to its academic mission.
UCLA Healthcare
The world-renowned UCLA Medical Center is actually part of a larger healthcare system, UCLA Healthcare, which also operates a hospital in Santa Monica and seven primary care clinics scattered across the Westside. In addition, the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine (also part of UCLA Healthcare) also uses two Los Angeles County hospitals as teaching hospitals: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Therefore, there are four hospitals in Los Angeles County with the UCLA name on them.
UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services
Besides operating the usual dormitories and apartment buildings, UCLA also runs a small, full-service, on-campus hotel, the UCLA Guest House, and a full-service conference center, the UCLA Conference Center, in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead.
Notable faculty, past and present
- George Ogden Abell, Professor of Astronomy, astronomer
- Joyce Appleby - U.S. Historian specializing in intellectual history and the legacy of liberalism
- Paul Boyer, Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1997)
- Larry Brown, Men's Basketball Coach
- Alonzo Church, known for the lambda calculus used in computing
- Donald Cram (1919-2001), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1987)
- Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography and Physiology, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies
- Michael Dukakis - Guest professor of Policy Studies, Former governor of Massachusetts and 1988 presidential candidate.
- Carlo Ginzburg - European Historian, author of The Cheese and the Worms
- Louis Ignarro, Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Nobel Laureate (Medicine, 1998), whose work made Viagra possible
- Leonard Kleinrock, Professor of Computer Science and Internet pioneer (Packet Switching)
- Willard Libby (1908-1980), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1960)
- William Ouchi, Management professor and best-selling author
- Juan Gomez-Quinones - U.S. Historian specializing in Chicano History
- Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher and Nobel Laureate (Literature, 1950)
- Arnold Schoenberg, Professor of Music, composer
- Julian Schwinger, Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1965)
- Eugene Volokh - Expert on First Amendment law
- John Wooden, Men's Basketball Coach, won 10 NCAA championships
- Eugen Weber - Historian, author of Peasants Into Frenchmen
Notable alumni
- Arthur Ashe - tennis star and social activist
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (graduated in 1969 as Lew Alcindor) - Basketball Hall of Fame, 1995
- Tom Bradley - mayor of Los Angeles, 1973-1993
- Ralph Bunche - Nobel laureate (Peace, 1950): on the entrance to Bunche Hall, Bunche's bust overlooks the Franklin Murphy Sculpture Garden.
- Vinton Cerf - helped develop the foundation for the Internet; frequently called the "father of the Internet."
- Francis Ford Coppola - Academy Award winning film director
- Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - World Series of Poker main event winner and poker professional.
- Karch Kiraly - volleyball legend; only person to win Olympic gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball
- Bruce Merrifield - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1984)
- Jim Morrison - lead singer of the Doors.
- Michael Ovitz - Hollywood talent agent and briefly president of Walt Disney Company
- Tim Robbins - Academy Award winning actor and film director
- Jackie Robinson - civil rights pioneer in Major League Baseball, Baseball Hall of Famer
- Paul Schrader - screenwriter and film director
- Glenn T. Seaborg - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1951)
- William Sharpe - Nobel laureate (Economics, 1990)
- Bill Walton - former NBA star, Basketball Hall of Famer; now a broadcaster