Architect, supporters to get top UCI awards

UC Irvine announced Wednesday that it would give its highest honor to four people who helped to shape the university or supported it over the years.

This year’s recipients are William Pereira, the architect who helped to shape both UCI and the city of Irvine; Gavin Herbert, the founder of the Allergan and a longtime backer of UCI’s ophthalmology department; Edward Newland, the former men’s water polo and swimming coach; and Audrey Schneiderman, an ambassador of the UCI Foundation and a lifetime member of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

Pereira, who died in 1985, is the first posthumous recipient of the award known as the Medal.

“The 2007 honorees deserve our highest recognition for increasing the campus’ ability to serve its students and provide ongoing benefits for the community, the nation and the world,” Chancellor Michael Drake said in a release.

The university plans to honor the winners at a reception Oct. 6. .