Local News in Brief : Irvine : Badham Gives Papers of His Public Service to UCI

In ceremonies Friday at the UC Irvine Library, Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach) formally presented to the university his papers from 26 years of elected public service.

Badham, who is retiring this year from Congress, donated papers, records, correspondence and many other items from his tenure as a member of the state Assembly and later as a member of Congress. Badham served in the Assembly from 1962 to 1976, when he was elected to Congress. He has been reelected to Congress since then.

Badham said he chose UCI as the repository for the papers because he had high respect for the university. Noting that the university is also near his home, Badham said, “I can come visit my memories.”

UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason praised Badham for the donation and said the papers are “the raw materials of history.” Peltason also noted that the Badham papers help tell the modern history of Orange County and how political decisions affected the county.

UCI Librarian Calvin Boyer also took part in the ceremonies, which were held in Boyer’s office.

Colleen Bentley-Adler, a spokeswoman for the university, said Boyer inspected the papers at Badham’s Washington office before their donation and was “very impressed with the way they had been kept, such as the chronological order.” Bentley-Adler said the Badham papers are the first by a public official to be donated to UCI, and she noted that both Peltason and Boyer said they hoped that Badham’s example will move other public figures to consider giving such historical records to the university.

The papers will be housed in the UCI Main Library’s archives room, which is open to the public, Bentley-Adler said.