University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles, commonly known as UCLA, was founded in 1919 as the Southern Branch of the University of California. It is the second-oldest campus in the University of California system.

In 1927, the school was renamed "University of California at Los Angeles"; the word 'at' was officially replaced by a comma in 1958. 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 campus was located on Vermont Avenue.) The first classes were held in 1929 in the four original buildings on the 400-acre campus. Today the campus comprises some 163 buildings across 419 acres in the western part of Los Angeles, north of the Westwood shopping district and just south of Sunset Boulevard.

As of 2003, the university has more than 35,000 students, and is led by Chancellor Al Carnesale.

UCLA enjoys a traditional rivalry with the nearby University of Southern California, however the two schools routinely share resources and adjunct faculty.

The school's sports teams are called the Bruins, with colors powder-blue and gold. (Note the parallel to Cal's Bears, with colors Yale Blue and gold, but in practice yellow.) They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the Pacific Ten Conference. Even UCLA's sweatshirt catalog can vault its alumni to fame, such as Heather Locklear, the daughter of a Registrar of UCLA.

Its annual "Mardi Gras" carnival, held to raise money for charity, claims to be the largest student-run fundraiser in the country. Each Spring, the Tau Beta Pi honor society hosts "Engineers' Week" activities that include engineering project demonstrations, paper airplane and egg dropping contests and a campus-wide trivia treasure hunt. 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.

Notable faculty, past and present

• George Ogden Abell, Professor of Astronomy, astronomer
• Paul Boyer, Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1997)
• Alonzo Church, known for the lambda calculus used in computing
• Donald Cram (1919-2001), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1987)
• Louis Ignarro, Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Nobel Laureate (Medicine, 1998), whose work made Viagra possible
• Leonard Kleinrock, Professor of Computer Science and Father of the Internet (Packet Switching)
• Willard Libby (1908-1980), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1960)
• Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher and Nobel Laureate (Literature, 1950)
• Arnold Schoenberg, Professor of Music, composer
• Julian Schwinger, Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1965)
• John Wooden, Men's Basketball Coach, won 10 NCAA championships

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, (graduated 1927) - Nobel laureate (Peace, 1950), Bunche Hall overlooks the Sculpture Garden.
• Bruce Merrifield - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1984)
• Jackie Robinson - civil rights pioneer in Major League Baseball
• Glenn T. Seaborg (graduated 1934) - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1951)
• William Sharpe - Nobel laureate (Economics, 1990)
• Bill Walton - former NBA star, Basketball Hall of Famer; now a broadcaster

External links

• http://www.ucla.edu Main UCLA site
• http://www.uclabruins.com Official athletics site

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