UC Irvine pays tribute to Aldrich

Barbara Davidson knows firsthand the role that Daniel Aldrich played in shaping a university from scratch.

Davidson, UC Irvine’s associate chancellor, was a student in the university’s charter class in 1965 and returned as a staff member a decade later.

She was among the speakers paying tribute Tuesday as the campus renamed its administration building after Aldrich, the founding chancellor of UCI and its leader for more than two decades.

“When UCI began, there was enough undeveloped land to have one student per acre,” Davidson told the crowd of about 50 that gathered outside the building on Ring Road. “Now, look around you.”

Moments later, the late chancellor’s wife and children cut a giant banner on the side of the building to reveal the words “Aldrich Hall.” The ceremony marked the second time UCI has named a major landmark after its founder. Aldrich Park also bears his name.

Aldrich, who died in 1990, served as UCI’s chancellor from 1962 to 1984 and later held interim chancellor positions at both UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.

His son, Daniel Aldrich III, remembered him Tuesday as a dynamic, creative and sometimes stern man — affectionately nicknamed “Chancellor Dan” — who proudly tracked the accomplishments of both his family and his campus.

The younger Aldrich also paid tribute to his mother, Jean, who received a special plaque from current Chancellor Michael Drake.

“Chancellor Dan was a talented, loved and revered individual, but he could not have done what he did without her,” Aldrich said.