Irvine : Bren, Rowland Picked to Receive UCI Medal

Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren, whose philanthropic largess has often benefited UC Irvine, and chemistry professor F. Sherwood Rowland, who has studied the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer, will be among four recipients of the UCI Medal on June 16.

Bren was honored for his gifts to UCI, particularly his agreement last year to remove a deed restriction and allow development of a joint university-commercial research park on land purchased from the Irvine Co. 25 years ago.

Rowland, who discovered that a common compound used in air-conditioning systems and cleaning solvents was destroying the ozone layer, is credited with launching a global effort to ban the compound.

The medal, UCI’s highest honor, will also go to Richard Hausman, former vice president of Allergan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and founding president of the UCI College of Medicine Foundation’s board of directors, and Howard Schneiderman,former dean of UCI’s School of Biological Sciences and now senior vice president and chief scientist for the Monsanto Co. in St. Louis.

The UCI Medal was established in 1984 to honor those who have made significant contributions to the university. Founding Chancellor Daniel Aldrich received the first UCI Medal.