Inaugural Day at UCI : Wilkening Formally Becomes Chancellor

IRVINE — Amid the pomp and circumstance of centuries-old academic ceremony, Laurel L. Wilkening was inaugurated Thursday as the third chancellor of UC Irvine.

About 3,000 people took part in the colorful outdoor ceremony in Aldrich Park, the faces in the audience reflecting the ethnic diversity of UCI.

And diversity was a theme of Wilkening’s inaugural speech.

“One of the very special attributes of this country has been its support for education as a means of unifying our nation in common goals,” Wilkening said. “As our (national) motto says, E Pluribus Unum --from the many, one.

“As we look to the next decade, the next century and the next millennium, higher education increasingly will serve as a means by which Americans, from the descendants of the original Americans to the newest Americans, can aspire to the American dream.”

Wilkening, 49, has been serving as chief executive of the Irvine campus since July 1. But academic traditions dictate that a new chancellor be formally installed and the event in Aldrich Park carried out those hallowed rituals.

Faculty members marched from the main campus to the park in long black robes bedecked by the colorful velvet hoods that denote academic disciplines. The UCI Wind Ensemble played stately music, and the UCI Choral Union members sang as they stood on the side of a grassy hill.

Wilkening, wearing a blue academic cap with golden tassel, smiled as she walked down the aisle and took her seat on the outdoor platform. She was surrounded by university dignitaries, many of whom praised her in short speeches.

David Kesselman, president of UCI’s Associated Students, called Wilkening “a true advocate for students,” saying she has brought “a new sense of openness around this campus.”

Gary H. Hunt, chairman of the UC Irvine Foundation, said Wilkening already well understands Orange County and is in harmony with the county’s “can-do, entrepreneurial spirit.”

Many of the speakers dwelt at length on the financial problems that have beset the University of California system during the prolonged recession.

But in her inaugural speech, Wilkening delivered upbeat message about education’s ability to provide generations of immigrants with the skills to succeed. The chancellor specifically mentioned three in the audience as examples:

* Westminster Councilman Tony Lam. Only 18 years ago, she said, Lam “was forced to abandon his successful business in Vietnam and to begin from scratch a new life in the United States.” Lam’s children are now “realizing the pursuit of the American dream through higher education,” she added.

* Corina Espinoza, who is director of UCI’s Cross-Cultural Center. Espinoza’s parents came to California as migrant workers in the 1940s. Espinoza, who received her political science degree from UCI, was the first in her family to attend college, the chancellor said.

* Kesselman, the president of UCI’s Associated Students. Kesselman was described as “a fourth-generation American, his family having fled the oppression of the Jews in Eastern Europe and Russia.”

Then turning to a slightly different theme, Wilkening mentioned one of her former students at the University of Arizona as an example of how dreams can be realized through education. Stewart Nozette, as an undergraduate, “was obsessed with astronomy and the space program,” she said.

Nozette went on to earn a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wilkening said, and he has a key role in the scheduled launching next year of “the first U.S. spacecraft targeted to an asteroid.”

Concluding her speech, the new chancellor said: “Working together, we can ensure that UCI continues to be the road to the American dream, an institution exemplifying the best of higher education in this new world, where, through education and scholarship, we will contribute to a prosperous, dynamic future for California.”

Tradition and history figured prominently in the day’s activities.

The inaugural was held in the campus’ geographic center, a park named for UCI’s first chancellor, the late Daniel G. Aldrich Jr. Aldrich’s successor, Jack W. Peltason, was inaugurated as UCI chancellor in the same park eight years ago.

Peltason, who is now president of the statewide UC system, was among the speakers. He and his wife, Suzanne, were among five receiving the UCI Medal, the school’s highest award, during the ceremonies. Peltason was honored for his work in education, including his service from 1984 to 1992 as UCI’s chancellor. Suzanne Peltason was praised for her support for UCI, including her work on a book recording the first 25 years of UCI’s history.

The other medal honorees were: Robert Cohen, founding chairman of UCI’s department of drama; Martha F. Newkirk, a former UC regent and UCI Alumni Assn. president and president of Newkirk Enterprises in Laguna Beach, and Louise Turner Arnold, a former honorary chairwoman of the UCI Health Sciences Fund and president of Turner Associates, also of Laguna Beach.

After the inauguration, students and faculty members staged several colorful events on campus, including the opening of a time capsule near the Administration Building.

The capsule was said to have been buried in May, 1968, with directions that it be opened in 25 years. But when campus officials unsealed the mementos on Thursday, they found, among other things, a Times Orange County edition dated Feb. 28, 1969.

“This is a surprise,” said Philip Henderson, assistant dean of UCI Extension. Henderson, who presided over the time capsule opening, also expressed surprise at other findings: a UCI beer glass and a centerfold from Playboy magazine.

Wilkening and Peltason, both present for the time-capsule opening, laughed at the obvious student prank of nearly 25 years ago.

The history of the 28-year-old campus, they indicated, is full of student laughter, as well as solemn events such as the inauguration of new chancellors.