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John Muir College’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

As UC San Diego’s second college, John Muir College admitted its first students in 1967; 50 years later, the college is celebrating its golden anniversary with a year-long series of festive events. Muir’s current students and alumni, as well as campus community members are invited to the college for a kick-off festival for the reveal of the time capsule sealed and buried by the founding class from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 2. Other events include a talk from one of the college’s founding faculty, Irwin Jacobs, a week of celebratory events for John Muir’s birthday, which coincides with the campus’s Earth Month activities, as well as an environmental conference featuring Muir biographer Donald Worster.

The remarkable life of the college's namesake, the 19th century environmentalist, nature writer and founder of the Sierra Club, continues to inspire and inform the vision and core values of the college. John Muir was also an inventor and businessman; he was a remarkable person who forged his own path and took risks. The college’s motto, ‘Celebrating the Independent Spirit,’ expresses our wish for all our students to lead varied, successful, committed and self-directed lives. This theme as well as our commitment to the environment will be weaved into many of our anniversary events.

Muir College’s general education requirements were designed to be the most flexible of all the colleges, offering students from every major maximum freedom to choose courses that meet individual goals and interests within a framework that insures depth of knowledge across three major disciplinary areas. These requirements combine individual choice and responsibility while encouraging experiential learning programs such as education abroad. John Muir College is a special place that is known for its welcoming, supportive community. Muir students are recognized and respected for their individuality, fostering their independent spirit.

Information on John Muir College’s 50th Anniversary events are below. For more about Muir College, click https://muir.ucsd.edu/.

Please join us, the members the Muir College 50th Celebration Planning Committee, colleagues and guests as we celebrate Muir College's contributions to the UC San Diego community.

John Moore Interim Dean, Undergraduate Education K. Wayne Yang Acting Provost, Muir College