Office of Access and Inclusion Hosts Reopening Festivities
Feb. 13, 2019 - Faculty, staff, students, community guests and other visitors from the Samueli School of Engineering and the Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences celebrated the grand opening Monday of the schools’ newly remodeled Office of Access and Inclusion. Created in 2014 to support the recruitment, retention and graduation of students from underrepresented communities, the office on the second floor of the Rockwell Engineering Building got a recent facelift, thanks to funding from Chevron Corp.
The now cheerful space is enlarged, painted and features a sunny yellow accent wall. It hosts tutoring, workshops, clubs, transition and mentoring programs, and other forms of support to undergraduates and graduate students in engineering and information and computer sciences.
The grand reopening celebration featured student-crafted projects from some of the office’s sponsored programs, including BASE 11 and the OAI Scholars Network. Displays included three iterations of quadcopters, an autonomous remote-controlled car called Wolfie, a magic mirror that displays news, weather and personal schedules, a smart door lock with camera that notifies the homeowner if an unauthorized person tries to gain entry, and Zotcade, an arcade demo that runs on Raspberry Pi and contains 3,000 games.
Samueli School Dean Gregory Washington kicked off the official unveiling of the remodeled space. “For years we have used this space as a place where students could come together, learn and engage, and it has served us well,” Washington said. “By expanding this space, we gave it a totally new look, and we’ve made it even more inviting and engaging for our students.”
Washington thanked Chevron’s team, led by Cynthia Murphy-Ortega, manager of university partnerships and association relations.
Murphy-Ortega, who reflected back on her own undergraduate years as a first-generation chemical engineering student, said, “Having an office like this, having the people, the resources and also the facilities really makes a difference. It really builds a community.” She said Chevron “really wanted to invest in the students,” and was happy to partner with the two UCI schools on the renovation. “We are thrilled to make these kinds of investments, and I wish the students, faculty and staff a wonderful experience here in the center.”
Sharnnia Artis, engineering and ICS assistant dean for access and inclusion, thanked Chevron for its participation, and UCI’s students for their commitment. “And thank you to our faculty and staff, too,” she added. “We can’t do this work without you.”
- Anna Lynn Spitzer
