University of California, Los Angeles
The
University of California, Los Angeles, commonly known as
UCLA, is \nthe Los Angeles campus of the
University of California.
As of 2003, the university has more than 35,000 students, and is led by
Chancellor Al Carnesale.
History
\nUCLA 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.
Campus
\nToday 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.
Academics
Organization
\nUCLA is organized into the following schools and colleges:\n* College of Letters and Science\n* School of the Arts and Architecture\n* Graduate School of Education and Information Studies\n* The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science\n* School of Law\n* The Anderson School of Management\n* School of Public Policy and Social Research\n* School of Theater Film and Television\n* The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA\n* Neuropsychiatric Institute\n* School of Nursing\n* School of Dentistry\n* School of Public Health
\nRankings
\nUCLA has a distinguished academic program. Of the 36 PhD. 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) \n* Geography (8) \n* Political Science (8) \n* Psychology (4) \n* Sociology (5) \n* Anthropology (8) \n* Chemistry (9) \n* Aerospace Engineering (10) \n* Physiology (4) \n* Philosophy (6) \n* Linguistics (3) \n* Classics (9)
Athletics
\nThe 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. There is even a Founder's Rock, but much smaller than the one at Cal.) They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the Pacific Ten Conference.
As of 2004, UCLA has 94 NCAA championships, more than any other school.
UCLA enjoys a traditional rivalry with the nearby University of Southern California, however the two schools routinely share resources and adjunct faculty.
Traditions and Events
\nEach 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.
Spring Sing is a yearly show of student talent held at the \nLA Tennis Center which is on campus.
Notable faculty, past and present
\n*George Ogden Abell, Professor of Astronomy, astronomer\n*Paul Boyer, Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1997)\n*Alonzo Church, known for the lambda calculus used in computing\n*Donald Cram (1919-2001), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1987)\n*Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography and Physiology, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies \n*Louis Ignarro, Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Nobel Laureate (Medicine, 1998), whose work made Viagra possible\n*Leonard Kleinrock, Professor of Computer Science and Father of the Internet (Packet Switching)\n*Willard Libby (1908-1980), Professor of Chemistry, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1960)\n*William Ouchi, Management professor and best-selling author\n*Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher and Nobel Laureate (Literature, 1950)\n*Arnold Schoenberg, Professor of Music, composer\n*Julian Schwinger, Professor of Physics, Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1965)\n*John Wooden, Men's Basketball Coach, won 10 NCAA championships\n*Eugen Weber - Historian, author of Peasants Into Frenchmen\n*Carlo Ginzburg - European Historian, author of The Cheese and the Worms\n*Juan Gomez-Quinones - U.S. Historian specializing in Chicano History\n*Joyce Appleby - U.S. Historian specializing in intellectual history and the legacy of liberalism
Notable alumni
\n*Arthur Ashe - tennis star and social activist\n*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (graduated in 1969 as Lew Alcindor) - Basketball Hall of Fame, 1995 \n*Tom Bradley - mayor of Los Angeles, 1973-1993\n*Ralph Bunche - Nobel laureate (Peace, 1950): on the entrance to Bunche Hall, Bunche's bust overlooks the Franklin Murphy Sculpture Garden.
External links
\n* Main UCLA site\n*
Official athletics site\n*
The Daily Bruin, the school newspaper\n*
Campus maps and landmarks\n*
Royce Hall Webcam\n*
UCLA History Project
Category:University of California\nCategory:Universities and colleges in California\nCategory:Pac-10
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