At the age of forty, UC Irvine is still a young university, but the campus has achieved more acclaim in four short decades than many older institutions. Anteater Chronicles: The UC Irvine Story is a website developed by the Libraries’ University Archives that traces our young campus from the early days to its current status as one of the world’s premier research universities.

Raising the tree in front of the Library, Fall 1965

Here are just a few notable facts about UCI: three Nobel prizes, ranked tenth among all U.S. public universities by U.S. News and World Report, election to the highly selective American Association of Universities, and a current enrollment of almost 25,000 students. Released in November 2005, Anteater Chronicles records these facts and many, many more. Some of its popular features include:

• Timelines of key events that can be sorted by category or decade.
• A history of the founding of the campus, design of the physical layout and academic programs, and other key facts.
• An illustrated database of all buildings on campus that can be searched by architect, year built, building name, and school or function.
• A brief biography of each chancellor, including dates of service.
• Then and Now comparisons of various facts and figures in 1965 and 2005.
• A database of facts on UCI’s Olympic athletes, including medals they have won.

Anteater Chronicles: The UC Irvine Story

University Archivist Jackie Dooley notes that, “We created the site to celebrate UCI’s Fortieth Anniversary, since we knew we would be getting lots of questions about campus history during 2005, but it will continue as a living history site long after we have finished celebrating. Regular enhancements will be made as we begin to plan for the Fiftieth Anniversary in 2015.”

The site is in three sections. History highlights the events that have shaped the campus, especially in its early years. Place focuses on physical layout and design; UCI’s architectural legacy is documented in maps, histories, and the buildings database. People documents our chancellors, faculty, students, alumni, and local community. From the creation of KUCI to the many contributions of the Irvine Company, UCI’s history is rich with the activities of the people who roam its hallways and winding paths.

For further information, please contact Jackie Dooley, Head of Special Collections and Archives and University Archivist, at jmdooley@uci.edu or 949.824.4935.