It all looked familiar and yet different to 91-year-old Sherman Grancell as he sat in Dickson

Campaign UCLA Chairman Bob Wilson (left) and Executive Vice Chancellor Wyatt R. Hume enjoyed the festivities that brought together UCLA faculty and staff, donors, representatives of community programs and organizations, schoolchildren and government leaders, among others.

Court, not far from where he stood three-quarters of a century ago when, as a Class of 1930 political science major, he witnessed the historic dedication of UCLA's new campus in 1926.

Grancell was a 16-year-old freshman when he borrowed his father's Model T Ford and drove his friends to Westwood for the ceremony. On Oct. 25 he returned to a much different campus, this time as president of the Pioneer Bruins, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the dedication.

"We really didn't have any idea that UCLA would get this big," Grancell said. "Founders' Rock was out there at the time, but that's about all there was -except for a lot of weeds and dirt."

Grancell, a retired attorney who once sold ads for the Daily Grizzly (later to become the Daily Bruin), and his wife, Sylvia, remain active with UCLA. They have endowed a music scholarship, and Sylvia has served for three decades on the board of Design for Sharing, which brings children to campus for performing arts events.

Another Pioneer Bruin in attendance was Richard Ibanez (Class of 1932), an economics major who went on to become an attorney and a Superior Court judge. Recalling life during the Depression, Ibanez said he earned money by working a wide range of jobs, including as a stonemason's assistant during the building of Royce Hall.

"The tempo was very different back then -it was a much slower pace," Ibanez said. "It perhaps gave us a chance to get closer to each other, in a way. There were just a few of us, and we were struggling to get along."

Attended by 800, the event honored UC Regent and campus pioneer Edward Augustus Dickson, for whom Dickson Court was newly named, and served as the formal launching of a community service initiative, "UCLA in LA: Partnerships for a Greater Los Angeles."

SEA CREATURES AND SPORTS TROPHIES

To help guests learn more about UCLA's community partnerships, Dickson Court was transformed with a colorful collection of 25 exhibits, ranging from a cyber café featuring several UCLA-based Web sites, to a touch tank filled with sea creatures from the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center at the Santa Monica Pier. The tank was especially popular with children, who courageously reached into the cold water to touch a live sea slug or starfish.

The Heisman Trophy and other Bruin sports memorabilia drew guests to the exhibit for "I'm Going to College," which uses UCLA athletic events to acquaint children with the university experience. Other exhibits included an earthquake shake table, historic items from the UCLA Library, eye-catching murals created by Professor Judith F. Baca and her students and lighthearted physics demonstrations by senior lecturer Art Huffman.

The afternoon also featured presentations by political officials in conjunction with "UCLA in LA Day," ethnic cuisine and theater students dressed in period costumes from the 1920s. Taking center stage were campus dancers, instrumentalists and singers, including the African American Music Ensemble, which opened the program with a rousing gospel version of "The Star Spangled Banner."

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Bringing scores of schoolchildren to campus for the event were some of UCLA's community partners, including the Sheenway School and Culture Center, INROADS, Operation HOPE, Community Outreach for Prevention and Education (COPE), San Fernando High School and the University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) Free Clinic.

Well represented with about 70 of its students was COPE, a Venice-based non-profit organization working to improve the health of youth and families while developing an interest in community service among future health care professionals.

"We train 120 UCLA undergraduates each year to help at-risk populations," said Allen Miller, COPE executive director. "Our relationship with UCLA has been a huge help," he said, pointing out that COPE interns are taught and supervised by UCLA faculty.

Representing Operation HOPE was Fred Smith, president and chief operating officer. This program partners with UCLA Extension to bring low-cost computer training to residents of Maywood, Watts and South Los Angeles.

"We teach courses through UCLA Extension instructors in information technology -everything a worker needs to function in a high-tech world," Smith said. "So it's been a wonderful relationship and has grown substantially from one course in September of 2000 to 15 courses."

Darryl Johnson, who chairs The UCLA Fund, said he was impressed with the wide range of community partnerships showcased at the event.

"It is very inspiring to see how far UCLA has come in the past 75 years," Johnson said. "This proves that UCLA is not just a part of the community, but is doing something very valuable in the community. And not just in West Los Angeles, but throughout Los Angeles County."