FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 23, 1996
Terry Colvin (510) 097-9152
terry.colvin@ucop.edu

DAVIS AND IRVINE HONORED WITH MEMBERSHIP IN THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

UC Davis and UC Irvine have been admitted as members of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), bringing to six the number of University of California campuses elected to the AAU. UC is the only university system in the nation with more than one AAU member.

The action was taken at the AAU's semi-annual meeting in Pasadena on Monday (Oct. 21). Davis and Irvine join Berkeley, UCLA, Santa Barbara and San Diego as UC members among the association's 62 instutitions.

"I am delighted that the AAU has recognized two more UC campuses. The addition of Davis and Irvine to the AAU honor role acknowledges the tremendous accomplishments these campuses have made in the fields of research and graduate education," said UC President Richard C. Atkinson.

"The election of the Davis and Irvine campuses is further evidence of UC's preeminence among the nation's leading universities, an accomplishment in which all Californians can take extraordinary pride," he said.

AAU President Cornelius J. Pings said the Davis and Irvine campuses were invited to join the association as a result of a lengthy review of prospective new members. Qualifications for membership include the breadth and depth of research and graduate education programs and the overall trajectories of those programs.

"Both Davis and Irvine are exceptional institutions that have many outstanding, nationally recognized research and education programs in a wide variety of areas," Pings said. "In addition, both universities have a clear vision for the future and are well-positioned to continue building on their strengths in the years ahead."

The AAU was founded in 1900. Approximately half its members are publicly funded and half are private. Membership in the association is by invitation only and requires the approval of three-quarters of the current members. Davis and Irvine are the first members selected since April 1995, when UC Santa Barbara and Emory University were admitted.

UC Berkeley was admitted in 1900. UCLA joined in 1974 and UC San Diego became a member in 1982. Other California members of AAU are Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California.

###