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The history of the Irvine campus begins in the early 1950s when the Regents concluded from University-wide enrollment projections that three new campuses must be in operation by 1970, one of which should be located in the east Los Angeles-Orange County area. Twenty-three locations in this area were examined and in March, 1959, a site on the Irvine Ranch, a few miles inland from Newport Beach, was tentatively selected by the Regents.
Situated at the center of a large urbanizing area and connected with metropolitan Los Angeles by a network of freeways, the site was on gently rolling land, with an inspiring outlook over the Santa Ana Basin. Among principal reasons for its choice was the great potential for the development of an integrated and interrelated campus and community, an opportunity provided through mutual agreement with the single owner of the surrounding land. |
