This is UCLA

UCLA's Powell Library is one of the original campus structures.

As one of the nation's premier universities, UCLA has come so far, so fast in its rise to the top tier of institutions of higher education. From its celebrated faculty to its high-achieving students and distinguished alumni, UCLA's College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools are committed to advancing the common good through research, teaching and active participation in the communities they serve. Uniquely positioned at the crossroads of the world's economies and cultures, UCLA combines outstanding intellectual achievement with an innovative, entrepreneurial style and a deep sense of civic responsibility. Some of the university's more notable recent achievements include:

Faculty, Students & Alumni
UCLA faculty have been awarded Nobel Prizes two recent years: biochemist Paul Boyer in chemistry (1997) and pharmacologist Louis Ignarro in medicine (1998). Among faculty there have been three other Nobelists, nine National Medals of Science recipients and hundreds of Guggenheim Fellowships, Fulbright Awards and other academic distinctions. UCLA educates more students than any other university in California and was the most sought-after institution in the nation for this fall's freshman class. Each year at UCLA, more than 2,000 undergraduates participate in the Student Research Program, working one-on-one with world-renowned scholars as they discover and create new knowledge. UCLA's alumni are bright stars on the world stage. They include leaders of industry and commerce. Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Emmy winners. Philanthropists and public servants. Olympians and professional athletes. Educators, engineers, bankers and astronauts. Founded in 1934, the UCLA Alumni Association serves more than 75,000 members with a comprehensive array of services, programs and activities.

Books & Technology
The UCLA Library is ranked among the top 10 academic research libraries in North America with holdings of nearly 7.5 million volumes. From the birth of the Internet at UCLA 30 years ago to today, where more than one million cyber-travelers pass through key Internet home pages each month, UCLA continues to be a leader in resources for learning. UCLA is nationally recognized for developing ground-breaking computer services for undergraduates and was the first university to have a Web site for every undergraduate student. The university provides an innovative, on-line tool called "My.ucla.edu," which provides a Web page tailored to each student's academic needs.

Outreach & Community Service
From its founding, UCLA has been an integral and contributing part of the greater Los Angeles community. Outreach programs and volunteerism are as much a part of UCLA as academics and research, with hundreds of UCLA-sponsored programs providing a wide range of opportunities. Nearly 30 percent of UCLA's undergraduates volunteer for these programs, including tutoring youths, adults and incarcerated youths; addressing health and educational needs of underserved communities; combating poverty and homelessness; aiding the elderly and disabled; and providing legal, social, medical and educational assistance to community residents.

Through academic outreach, UCLA works with K-12 schools throughout Los Angeles to help greater numbers of students prepare to compete successfully for college. UCLA also is partnering with community colleges to increase the number of underrepresented students transferring to the university. Additionally, UCLA faculty, researchers and students provide leadership and public service in health care, law, economic development, social welfare, urban planning, public policy, arts and the environment. Most academic departments have major research projects, field studies or student internships that directly effect people's lives in Los Angeles, the state and the nation.

Health Care
Each year more than 300,000 patients from Southern California, the U.S. and around the globe come to the world-renowned UCLA Medical Center for treatment, while thousands more area residents receive care through a network of primary care offices and community outreach health programs. The four schools in the medical enterprise are medicine, dentistry, nursing and public health. The medical center has been ranked as the best hospital in the West by U.S. News & World Report for 11 consecutive years. Groundbreaking research is constantly taking place in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Gonda (Goldschmied) Neuroscience and Genetics Research Center and in many other centers and laboratories on campus.

Arts
A diverse array of public arts programming makes UCLA the leading arts and cultural center of the West. More than 500,000 people regularly attend arts events including theater, music, opera and dance performances, lectures, poetry readings, exhibitions, film screenings, and media arts that are presented by UCLA's two professional arts schools. Check the web sites at www.arts.ucla.edu and www.tft.ucla.edu for more information.

Lifelong Learning
Another prime example of UCLA's connecting with the community is through UCLA Extension, one of the nation's largest divisions of continuing higher education, offering more than 4,500 courses each year in diverse fields of study.

The university conducts guided walking tours and distributes self-guided tour maps. For further information, call (310) 206-0616 or check out UCLA on the Web at www.ucla.edu.