UC Irvine Magazine

In this edition of UC Irvine Magazine, our cover story showcases the close of the university’s Brilliant Future campaign – which generated a record $2.4 billion for student support, pioneering research and patient care, making it the largest fundraising effort in UC Irvine’s 60 years and of any organization in Orange County’s history. Each feature story embodies one of the drive’s four pillars, depicting how the university’s work – buoyed by philanthropy – is affecting everyday lives. “Real Heart Work” introduces the successful SAGE Scholars program and four of its alumni who are making a difference in their communities, while “Fueling Hope” describes how an outpouring of gifts after tragedy has helped UC Irvine researchers make advances in the fight against aggressive triple-negative breast cancer. “Riding the Hallyu” details the Center for Critical Korean Studies’ rise as an interdisciplinary powerhouse on the global stage. Finally, in “Building Breakthroughs,” we introduce the campus’s new translational research hub, which is bringing together 12 leading-edge centers to tackle some of society’s largest problems – from toxin prevention to curing cancer – in hopes of “Forging a Brilliant Future” for us all.