September 16, 2004

Revelle College To Mark Its 40th Anniversary
With Yearlong Series Of Public Celebrations

By Pat JaCoby

Revelle College, the first of the University of California, San Diego’s six undergraduate colleges to be established, will kick-off a yearlong 40th anniversary celebration with a university-wide noon event Sept. 24 on Library Walk East Lawn.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will open the event with brief remarks after an introduction by Revelle College Provost Daniel Wulbert.

Several hundred pieces of cake will be served at the celebration site by apron-wearing officials associated with Revelle’s history, including Tom Bond, former provost; Ernie Mort and Tom Hull, former deans of Student Affairs; Renee Barnett Terry, dean of Student Affairs; Nancy Groves, dean of Academic Advising; Melissa Peros, chair of the Revelle College Council, and a crew of Revelle College staff and students.

Blue and gold balloons will mark the area, and the UCSD Pep Band will play.

“I am delighted that UCSD is observing the 40th anniversary of Revelle College,” Chancellor Fox noted, “because it gives us an opportunity to honor the legacy of Roger Revelle and celebrate the excellence of UCSD’s oldest college. The name ‘Revelle’ carries great distinction among scientists the world over, and Revelle College, our ‘first college,’ continues to serve as the gold standard in undergraduate education.”

Other events planned during the year will focus on students during the fall, on faculty during the winter, and on alumni in the spring.

The faculty symposia, to which students and alumni are invited, will be inaugurated in January with an anniversary symposium on Remembering Roger Revelle: Visionary and Scientist, and will be followed by four faculty symposia. Topics will include Biological Aspects and Human Impact on the Environment; Atmospheric Affects on the Environment, Political Action to Save the Environment and a final symposium featuring alumni speakers.

Revelle College students plan to join as a team for the Chancellor’s 5K run, and freshmen will receive special decals commemorating the anniversary.

Planned for alumni in the spring, in conjunction with the May 19 Leadership Banquet, are weekend events including a reception at the Faculty Club and a family picnic.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, 858 534-7404

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Revelle College Myths:
Fact or Fiction
40th ANNIVERSARY TRIVIA

Following are some 40 myths, facts, and trivia questions about Revelle College, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. Of these 40, how do you score on your Revelle College history?

• Myth: All Revelle students are science majors.
  Fact: Revelle students are currently enrolled in more than 75 different majors. While approximately 38 percent are majoring in science and math, roughly 62 percent are in non-science and math majors.
• Trivia: What famous singer and band performed in the Revelle Cafeteria on Jan. 31, 1969?
  Answer: Ike and Tina Turner performed a gig for the astonishing sum of $500.
• Myth: It takes Revelle students longer to graduate.
  Fact: The time-to-degree for the 1998 freshman cohort is 4.3 years or 12.9 quarters; the time-to-degree for all UCSD freshmen is 4.3 years or 12.8 quarters.
• Trivia: What are the names of the eight residence halls at Revelle?
  Answer: Atlantis, Beagle, Challenger, Discovery, Galathea, Meteor, Blake and Argo.
• Myth: Roger Revelle was UCSD’s first chancellor and was involved in planning the Revelle College curriculum.
  Fact: Roger Revelle was never chancellor of UCSD and had gone to Harvard by the time the college was named for him. However, faculty he had recruited while at UCSD played a role in planning the curriculum.
• Trivia: What company presented the Revelle Fountain to UCSD?
  Answer: Pacific Southwest Airlines.
• Myth: The University’s most famous graduates are from Revelle.
  Fact: No, there is an even balance between Muir and Revelle, explained by the fact that they are the two oldest campuses.
• Trivia: What is the quote on the Revelle Fountain?
  Answer: “Ambition and love are the wings to great deeds.”
• Myth: Most Revelle freshmen are pre-med major.
  Fact: Trick question, because “pre-med” is not a major; one can apply to medical school from any major.
• Trivia: What were Roger Revelle’s middle names?
  Answer: Randall and Dougan
• Myth: Nothing ever changes at Revelle.
  Fact: Specifics of the general education requirements have changed over the years, most notably in the reduction of the foreign language requirement and the change of the non-contiguous minor to a non-contiguous area of focus.
• Trivia: What are some of the traditional events at Revelle?
  Answer: Watermelon Drop, Snow Day, Holiday Faire, Talent Show, Semi-formal Dance, Anchor Painting.
• Myth: Revelle students are not involved in campus activities.
  Fact: Over the years Revelle has held a proportional number of university-wide offices, including, for example, the current Associated student president and AS president three years ago.
• Trivia: When is Roger Revelle’s birthday?
  Answer: March 7.
• Myth: Revelle College students are “nerds.”
  Fact: This myth grows out of the rivalry between the colleges with the “Muir Morons,” etc. Several years ago a group of students came up with a T-shirt inscribed “Revelle Does It Because It Is Required.”
• Trivia: What is the name of the Revelle newspaper?
  Answer: “Revellations.”
• Trivia: How many Revelle graduations did Roger Revelle attend?
  Answer: Ten, the last in l975.
• Trivia: What year did “Buffalo Bob,” creator of Howdy Dowdy, entertain Revelle students?
  Answer: 1970.
• Myth: The mural in the Revelle Cafeteria contains the profile of John Kennedy and the face of Mao Tse Tung.
  Fact: Howard Warshaw, art professor from UC Santa Barbara, painted the mural which he said illustrates the evolutionary stages of mankind. In a Nov. 1, 1978 lecture he gave about the painting, he denied that it included the profile of John Kennedy or Ma Tse Tung’s face.
• Trivia: How many provosts have served at Revelle College since its founding?
  Answer: Ten. (Goldberg, Bradner, Saltman, Goodman, Friedkin, Tapp, Loveberg, Chia Wei Woo, Bond and Wulbert.)
• Myth: Have there been and equal number of Deans of Students in
  Revelle’s 40 year history?
  Answer: No, only three (Tom Hull, Ernie Mort and Renee Barnett Terry.)
• Trivia: Was there ever a woman provost of Revelle?
  Answer: Yes, June Tapp.
• Trivia: Which provost became Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs?
  Answer: Paul Saltman.
• Trivia: What famous author, screenwriter and movie director gave a lecture in the Revelle Cafeteria?
  Answer: Michael Crichton, author of the “Andromeda Strain.”
• Trivia: What famous science fiction writer, author of “Farenheit 451, gave a lecture in the Revelle Cafeteria?
  Answer: Ray Bradbury.
• Trivia: One of the residence halls at Revelle is named after the ship which Charles Darwin used in his explorations. What is the name of the ship and the residence hall?
  Answer: Beagle.
• Trivia: What ship was launched when Revelle College was dedicated. Who dedicated the ship, and who gave the college’s dedication speech?
  Answer: Ellen Revelle, Roger Revelle’s wife, dedicated Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s research vessel, “Ellen B. Scripps,” on Oct. 1, 1965. Roger Revelle gave the college dedication speech that same day.
• Trivia: What two residence halls at Revelle at named after Scripps Institution of Oceanography ships?
  Answer: Discovery and Challenger.
• Trivia: Where is the free speech area located at Revelle College.
  Answer: Revelle Plaza.
• Trivia: Has anyone served on the staff at Revelle for the entire 40 years?
  Answer: No, but Nancy Groves, dean of Academic Advising, has worked with Revelle undergraduates for 38 of her 40 years at UCSD.
• Trivia: What well known author of children’s books gave the commencement address at Revelle College on June 19, 1978, and wrote a special poem for that event?
  Answer: Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel.
• Trivia: What is the name of the spring festival at Revelle?
  Answer: Melon Madness.
• Trivia: How many freshman comprised the first Revelle class? How many were science majors?
  Answer: 181 total, and all but 30 were science majors.
• Trivia: What was Revelle College called before it was officially dedicated?
  Answer: First College.
• Trivia: What was the non-official attire of the first students?
  Answer: Jackets, ties and beanies for the men; the women favored the beehive hair style of the day.
• Myth: Revelle requires students to complete a minor.
  Fact: Not so, a minor is no longer required.
• Trivia: What Revelle tradition gives praise to a special fruit?
  Answer: Ode to the Avocado.
• Trivia: What is the name of the Revelle TV station?
  Answer: Real Cool Television.
• Myth: There is a monetary fine for blowing bubbles off the balcony or rails in the Revelle resident halls or apartments.
  Fact: No, although for years students thought there was a $75 fine.
• Trivia: When did Roger Revelle give the dedication speech for Revelle College?
  Answer: October 1, 1965.
  

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Compiled by Pat JaCoby
University Communications