History of the University of California, Riverside facts for kids

The history of the University of California, Riverside, also known as UCR, began in 1907. Back then, UCR was called the University's Citrus Experiment Station. By the 1950s, the University started offering a teaching-focused liberal arts education at the site. It was like a small liberal arts college. But California's population was growing fast, so the Riverside campus needed to become a full university campus within the UC system. This change happened in 1959.

UCR's Start: The Citrus Experiment Station

The Rubidoux Laboratory Begins

Southern California became famous for its "citrus belt" in the 1870s. This area, known for growing citrus fruits like oranges, stretched from Pasadena to Redlands. It all started with navel orange trees planted in Riverside, using cuttings from Brazil.

A man named John Henry Reed, who used to be a school superintendent, suggested creating a science station just for citrus research. He worked hard to get the local citrus industry to support this idea. On March 18, 1905, the state set aside $30,000 to choose a location for this new station.

On February 14, 1907, the University of California officially opened the University of California Citrus Experiment Station on 23 acres of land near Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside. At first, only two staff members worked there. One of them, Ralph E. Smith, was a plant scientist. This first station, called the Rubidoux Laboratory, focused on problems like how to fertilize soil, irrigate crops, and improve them.

Growing Bigger: Moving to Box Springs

In 1913, a terrible freeze hit Southern California, causing huge damage to the citrus industry. This made people demand more state-funded agricultural research. The California State Legislature provided $185,000 to create a larger Citrus Experiment Station in one of the southern counties.

Herbert John Webber, a plant breeding professor, became the new director. He worked with Riverside leaders and growers to find a new, larger location. They chose a 475-acre site about 2.5 miles from downtown Riverside, next to the Box Springs Mountains. On December 14, 1914, the University approved this choice. People in Riverside were so happy that the whole city celebrated! It was a very important day for Riverside.

The new station would be managed by Webber. He hired eleven scientists to work in different areas like plant chemistry, plant health, insect studies, and orchard management. Webber also started the Citrus Variety Collection, planting about 500 types of citrus from all over the world. This collection became the largest of its kind internationally.

Early Buildings and Design

Citrus Experiment Station, circa 1916

The first buildings at the Box Springs site were designed by Lester H. Hibbard. They cost $165,000 and were built in the Mission Revival style. This style was popular in Southern California and looked like old Spanish buildings. The site officially opened in 1917 and became the first part of the UCR campus.

The Early Years of UCR

After World War II, many former soldiers used the GI Bill to go to college. This meant a huge number of students needed to enroll, and existing universities were getting full. Studies in the late 1940s showed that California would need even more colleges in the future. The UC system only had large campuses in Berkeley and Los Angeles, which were already very busy.

In 1947, a special committee studied California's education needs. A group of Riverside citrus growers and community leaders worked hard to get a small liberal arts college built next to the University of California Citrus Experiment Station. They even sent gifts of oranges to lawmakers!

Their efforts paid off. The committee suggested that Riverside should be the location for the fourth UC undergraduate campus. In 1949, Governor Earl Warren signed a bill approving the creation of the College of Letters and Science in Riverside.

Gordon S. Watkins, a dean from UCLA, was asked to help organize the new college in Riverside. He spent five years planning, hiring teachers, and building the campus. The Korean War caused delays in construction, but the community kept pushing for resources like steel and concrete. Watkins planned for the campus to hold up to 1,500 students.

The Riverside campus opened in February 1954 with 65 teachers and 131 students. Watkins famously said, "Never have so few been taught by so many." Under Watkins, UCR started very well. He attracted excellent teachers with good pay and less pressure to do research. In the 1950s, UCR briefly had the highest quality incoming freshmen classes of all UC locations, even Berkeley!

UCR's Mascot History

The original UCR logo

When the university opened in 1954, students wanted a bear mascot, like UC Berkeley and UCLA. The student newspaper was even called "The Cub." Many students liked "Cubs" as a mascot name, but others worried it would make UCR seem like a "little brother" campus.

In November 1954, the men's basketball team supported a student's idea for "Hylanders." This name won easily. Provost Watkins spoke with a Welsh accent, and UCR was located at the highest elevation among all UC schools. Also, the nearby Box Springs Mountains were known as the Highlands. So, "Hylanders" was a perfect fit!

UCR Becomes a Full University (1950s-1960s)

At first, the UC system thought newer campuses would be specialized, like Riverside being a liberal arts college. They didn't think California could afford many big universities. But the number of students kept growing at Berkeley and Los Angeles, so the university needed to expand everywhere. The small liberal arts college model became too costly for California's fast-growing population.

Biologist Herman Spieth took over from Watkins as provost in 1956. Spieth wanted to turn Riverside from a small college into a full university. Some teachers who had joined under Watkins were unhappy about this change.

By 1958, when Clark Kerr became president of the UC system, UCR had 1,087 students. Kerr had a vision of "one university, many campuses." So, by 1959, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Davis, and San Diego were all made full UC campuses. Spieth's title changed from provost to chancellor. He was tasked with increasing UCR's student body to 5,000 and developing its graduate programs. UCR started accepting graduate students in 1961.

Spieth also made important changes to the campus design. Watkins had used East Coast college designs, which didn't fit the hot, dry Inland Empire. Spieth quickly changed UCR's campus to feature Spanish- and Moorish-inspired architecture, which was much better suited for the climate.

Rules About Student Speech

In 1959, President Kerr made rules that student governments couldn't take sides on political issues outside campus without permission. Students at Riverside protested this. The student newspaper editors at Berkeley, Riverside, and Santa Barbara all wrote articles against the rules.

In 1962, Chancellor Spieth wouldn't let Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling speak about disarmament because it wasn't his main academic field. He also stopped Dorothy Ray Healey, a former Communist Party leader, from speaking. Six UCR students sued the university over this. Eventually, in 1963, the university changed its rules and allowed Communist speakers.

The End of Spieth's Time

By 1963, Spieth was tired of the constant disagreements and challenges. He moved to the Davis campus to go back to teaching and research. It was a very difficult time for him as UCR's first chancellor. The citrus station and the liberal arts college faculty often disagreed, and Spieth was caught in the middle.

The Hinderaker Years (1960s-1970s)

Ivan Hinderaker became UCR's second chancellor in 1964. He worked with students to create new projects like the KUCR radio station, a campus child-care center, and a political debate club. He also started Greek chapters and grants for student athletes.

Hinderaker's main job was to finish turning UCR into a full research university. This was hard because many early teachers had been hired to focus on teaching, not research. Hinderaker had to wait for these teachers to retire before he could hire new faculty who were also focused on research.

Through the 1960s, UCR's student numbers grew to about 5,000. But in the 1970s, enrollment started to drop. The main reason was air pollution. By 1972, UCR's official description for new students even mentioned that Riverside was "hot with too much smog." This made it hard to attract students and teachers.

In 1973, Riverside's Mayor asked the Governor to declare the area a disaster because of the air pollution. This made Riverside famous for its smog and hurt UCR's student numbers. By 1978, UCR had 25% fewer students than in 1971. There were even rumors that the campus might close.

To help with the enrollment problems, Hinderaker developed UCR's Biomedical Program and a popular Business Administration Program. He also created UCR's graduate schools for education and administration and helped establish the UCR/California Museum of Photography.

The 1980s at UCR

In 1975, Hinderaker ended UCR's football team due to money problems. In 1978, Proposition 13 passed, which greatly reduced state funding for higher education. This created more budget challenges for UCR and other public colleges in California.

After Hinderaker retired in 1979, several chancellors served short terms during the 1980s. Student enrollment slowly started to grow again in 1984, more than doubling by 1991. However, no single chancellor stayed long enough to guide UCR's growth strategically.

Tomás Rivera became UC's first minority chancellor in 1979. He was also the first Latino leader of a major research university in the United States. He sadly died suddenly in 1984. Daniel G. Aldrich served as an interim chancellor, followed by Theodore L. Hullar. Hullar started pushing for more professional schools at UCR.

In 1987, Rosemary S.J. Schraer became the UC system's first female chancellor at Riverside. Because of the growing student numbers in the 1980s, Schraer was able to hire 200 new teachers. She died in office in 1992. Her successor, Raymond Orbach, served for ten years and helped guide UCR's development through the 1990s.

Costo Archive: Supporting Native American Studies

UCR has received important support from California's Native American community. In 1986, Rupert and Jeannette Costo created the Costo Chair of American Indian Affairs at UCR. This was the first special teaching position for American Indian Studies in the United States. They also gave UCR their large collections, creating the Costo Library of the American Indian and Costo Archive.

UCR also has programs and services for Native American students, including recruiting students from the nearby Sherman Indian School. These programs help Native American students join and succeed at the university.

From the 1990s to Today: Growing Fast

The American economy faced problems in the early 1990s. But when things got better in 1994, more students than expected applied to UC campuses. This big increase was called "Tidal Wave II." To handle this growth, UCR was planned to grow the fastest in the UC system, aiming for 19,900 students by 2010.

As more students enrolled, the student body became more diverse. By 1995, 30% of UCR students were from non-Caucasian groups, which was the highest percentage in the UC system at the time. In 1997, Proposition 209 was passed, which stopped state agencies (including the University of California) from using race or ethnicity in admissions. This led to even more ethnic diversity at UCR, while other more selective UC campuses became less diverse. By 2007, 69% of UCR's undergraduate students were from non-Caucasian groups.

With UCR set for huge growth, efforts were made to increase its recognition. Students voted to raise fees to move UCR athletics into NCAA Division I in 1998, which is the highest level of college sports. There have also been plans to create a law school, a medical school, and a public policy school at UCR since the 1990s. In 2006, UCR received its largest gift ever, $15.5 million, to help build its medical school. The university officially approved the medical school plan in November 2006.