June 2, 2026

A Claire Trevor School of the Arts crew assembles the floor of the New Swan Theater which will host the New Swan Shakespeare Festival July 7-Aug 30. (Photo by Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)

UC IRVINE NEWS

Eli Simon to receive Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award

Eli Simon, Chancellor’s Professor of drama at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, will receive the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award from Arts Orange County at its 26th Annual Arts OC Awards ceremony in September. The award is the organization’s highest honor for lifetime achievement. It recognizes Simon’s enduring impact as a director, educator and visionary arts leader and his role in creating one of the region’s most distinctive cultural institutions: the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.

Engineering students win NASA Blue Skies Award

The 2026 UC Irvine Blue Skies team from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, from left: Jerry Chen, junior; Vanessa Chung, Ph.D. student; Addison Rushing, senior; and Bryce Mankovsky, senior.

A team of UC Irvine engineering students won honors from NASA for creating an innovative system for aircraft maintenance in NASA’s Gateway to Blue Skies Competition. The team was honored with Best Infographic Award for their presentation and were one of eight national finalists who received $9,000 to continue research into their solution for aircraft maintenance. The annual contest invites university students from across the nation to tackle an issue in the aviation industry. #SpeakUp4Science

Recognizing and treating insomnia

Sleeplessness that persists night after night and interferes with daytime functioning may be insomnia which affects between 50 and 70 percent of people at some point in their lives. It’s important to understand what’s behind the issues, says UCI Health sleep expert Dr. KyoungBin Im. “Individuals should not assume that insomnia symptoms automatically indicate insomnia disorder,” Im said. “Identifying the underlying cause is key to effective treatment.”

Celebrating Pride Month

June marks Pride Month. UC Irvine Libraries continues to expand its collections on LGBTQ+ communities and their milestones through research guides and archival collections that document political, social and cultural movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. To celebrate Pride Month, the library has compiled a guide to online resources and media. While certain resources are restricted to those with a valid UCInetID, many are accessible to the public as part of UC Irvine Libraries' ongoing commitment to promoting learning and enhancing access.

UC NEWS

Accessibility by design

New federal accessibility rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II went into effect in April 2026 and required public higher education institutions to meet WCAG 2.1 ADA standards across their digital environments. For UC, this has meant ensuring accessibility not only for public websites but also for the internal systems employees rely on daily for human resources, payroll and benefits information. With this context in mind, UCPath provides a timely and practical example of proactive accessibility work.

#IamUCI

Graduating with purpose

Graduating students from left: Melinda Aguilar ’26; Dakota Covey ’25, MAT+C ’26; Thalia Nguyen, MAT+C ’26; and Fabiel Ayala Saavedra ’26.

In June, more than 425 students will graduate from the School of Education with bachelors’, masters’ or doctoral degrees. Whether they aspire to become teachers, counselors or researchers, these graduating students are committed to making a difference in the lives of others. Here are the graduating students’ reflections on their time at UC Irvine and how it prepared them for a future filled with purpose.

#UCIconnected spotlights interesting updates from the UC Irvine community. #IamUCI spotlights profiles of students, faculty, staff and alumni. Send submissions via email or post on social media with the #UCIconnected or #IamUCI hashtags.

UC IRVINE NEWSMAKERS

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