About the Place, "The Langson Library is one of the eight original buildings on campus, designed by architect William Pereira in 1965. Langson contains the collections and services that support research and teaching in the Arts, Humanities, Education, Social Sciences, Social Ecology, and Business & Management. Helpful librarians and staff members are available at the Ask Us and Check Out desks, located on the 2nd floor of the library."
About the Person, "Irvine, Calif., Sept. 26, 2003 — The Main Library on the UC Irvine campus was renamed the Jack Langson Library on October 16, 2003 in recognition of a leadership gift by the Newport Beach entrepreneur.
"We are tremendously grateful for this generous gift," said Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone."The library is more than a collection of books, journals and manuscripts. It is a place where members of the university and the community can learn from the past, conduct new research and create new knowledge. This cycle of learning is the foundation of our civilization, and this gift helps us continue the library's essential mission."
Langson is president and owner of Investment Building Group, a Southern California-based commercial real estate development group. He believes strong libraries are critical to successful universities.
"It seems to me that improving the library is strengthening the intellectual heart of the university," he said. "A great university library provides the lifeblood to nourish the capabilities of its students and to support the advancement of knowledge by its researchers."
The Newport Beach resident, who grew up in Anaheim, received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1970 and his M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1972. He became involved with UCI when he returned to Orange County in 1974. "I live in Orange County and UCI is a very significant part of the community," Langson said. "I think it is important to be supportive."
"Jack's gift creating the Langson Library Fund and the Langson Library Endowed Fund will greatly enhance the library for students, faculty and the community," said University Librarian Gerald J. Munoff. "We will be able to make substantial building improvements to provide better services and accommodate new technologies to meet increased library use from the campus and community."
UCI's Main Library offers research services and collections that support the arts, humanities, social sciences, social ecology, business and management. Among the library's prominent collections are the Critical Theory Archives, Special Collections, the East Asian Collection and the Southeast Asian Archive. The Main Library, the Science Library, the Grunigen Medical Library and the Gateway Study Center, which together comprise UCI Libraries, hold more than 2.2 million volumes, and subscriptions to 35,000 journals in electronic and print formats. Two million people visit the libraries each year, and more than eight million use its resources online.
In addition, thousands of community members have patronized the library's popular lecture, author and exhibit programs.
UCI is a top-ranked public university dedicated to the principles of research, scholarship and community. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,200 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact that exceeds $2.65 billion."
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