The prestigious UC Irvine Medals were bestowed upon worthy academics
and community leaders recently as an overflow crowd turned out in black
tie at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Irvine to celebrate excellence at the
university.
UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone presided over the lofty gathering.
The funds raised, a record $641,000, will be used to directly support UCI
students.
"Proceeds will fund Regents' Scholarships and, for the first time,
will also be used for graduate fellowships," Cicerone commented.
The evening was co-chaired by UCI Foundation trustee Henry Samueli,
co-founder and chief technology officer of Broadcom, and his wife, Susan.
The prominent Corona del Mar couple were recipients of the UCI Medal in
2000 in recognition of their philanthropy relating to the university.
Joining Chancellor Cicerone and UCI Foundation members, the Samuelis
participated in awarding the 2002 honors to Jill Beck, dean of the UCI
Claire Trevor School of the Arts; Dwight W. Decker, chairman and chief
executive of Conexant; J. Hillis Miller, UCI distinguished professor of
English and comparative literature; and Ted Smith, founder and retired
chair of FileNET Corp. Smith also serves as chairman of the UCI
Foundation board and has worked for more than 16 years fostering
partnerships between the university and the local business community.
Others dedicated to UCI serving on the 2002 medal committee included
honorary co-chairs Arnold Beckman, Donald and Brigitte Bren, and Joan
Irvine Smith. Also in the crowd, serving UCI with both financial and
personal support, were Doug and Lynn Freeman, Alvin and Rosalie Glasky,
Bruce and Elizabeth Hallett, Gary and Melanie Singer, Tom and Misa Yuen,
and Nicolaos and Sue Alexopoulos.
Created in 1984, the UCI Medal is the highest honor given by UC
Irvine.
* * *
The Hutchins Consort took the Irvine Barclay Theatre by storm last
week in what was an annual event for this unique musical ensemble.
Special guest artist Allan Vogel, playing the oboe, was one of the
highlights of the evening led by Joe McNalley, artistic director and
master of the contrabass violin.
The consort, for those unfamiliar, is a group of eight violins
covering the entire range of written music for the instrument. It is
named for famed luthier Dr. Carleen Hutchins, who designed and built the
eight scaled violins, and remains the only octet of its kind in the world
today.
McNalley and his group will travel to New York City next month for a
