In 1907, the predecessor to UCR was founded as the UC Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside which pioneered research in biological pest control and the use of growth regulators.

"[14][15] UCR's sports teams are known as the Highlanders and play in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I.

[16] The 1944 passage of the GI Bill during World War II set in motion a rise in college enrollments that necessitated an expansion of the state university system in California.

A local group of citrus growers and civic leaders, including many UC Berkeley alumni, lobbied aggressively for a UC-administered liberal arts college next to the CES.

Initially conceived of as a small college devoted to the liberal arts, he ordered the campus built for a maximum of 1,500 students and recruited many young junior faculty to fill teaching positions.

[22] Anticipating a "tidal wave" in enrollment growth required by the baby boom generation, Kerr developed the California Master Plan for Higher Education and the Regents designated Riverside a general university campus in 1959.

[23] UCR's first chancellor, Herman Theodore Spieth, oversaw the beginnings of the school's transition to a full university and its expansion to a capacity of 5,000 students.

UCR's second chancellor, Ivan Hinderaker led the campus through the era of the free speech movement and kept student protests peaceful in Riverside.

[24] According to a 1998 interview with Hinderaker, the city of Riverside received negative press coverage for smog after the mayor asked Governor Ronald Reagan to declare the South Coast Air Basin a disaster area in 1971; subsequent student enrollment declined by up to 25% through 1979.

[17][24][25] Hinderaker's development of innovative programs in business administration and biomedical sciences created incentive for enough students to enroll at Riverside to keep the campus open.

[29] The 1997 implementation of Proposition 209—which banned the use of affirmative action by state agencies—reduced the ethnic diversity at the more selective UC campuses but further increased it at UCR.

Built by 1917 at a cost of $165,000, the architecture of the major buildings followed the Mission Revival style suggesting the Spanish colonial heritage of Southern California.

[31] Further major construction largely ceased on the site until the groundbreaking for the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) in April 1951.

These include facilities such as University Extension, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Germplasm Repository, International Village (student housing), Human Resources and Highlander Hall.

Citrus groves and row crops occupy the remaining 295 acres (119 ha) stretching northwest to the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Le Conte Drive.

[31] The University of California, Riverside has recently united its three downtown arts presentation venues under the umbrella name of the UCR ARTSblock.

[51] Through its Division of Biomedical Sciences, founded in 1974, UCR offers the Thomas Haider medical degree program in collaboration with UCLA.

[11] In 1927, entomologists at the CES introduced two wasps from Australia as natural enemies of a major citrus pest, the citrophilus mealybug, saving growers in Orange County $1 million in annual losses.

[77][78] In 1963, plant physiologist Charles Coggins proved that application of gibberellic acid allows fruit to remain on citrus trees for extended periods.

Since then, the citrus breeding program has released other varieties such as the Melogold grapefruit, the Gold Nugget mandarin (or tangerine), and others that have yet to be given trademark names.

UCR recently announced a partnership with China Agricultural University to launch a new center in Beijing, which will study ways to respond to the country's growing environmental issues.

[80] UCR can also boast the birthplace of two name reactions in organic chemistry, the Castro-Stephens coupling and the Midland Alpine Borane Reduction.

[102] Located adjacent to the UCR/CMP, the Sweeney Art Gallery holds approximately 650 unique works, with especially strong collections from the modern to contemporary periods, including pieces by Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Millard Sheets and Kara Walker.

[111] UCR's residence halls consist of four structures—Aberdeen-Inverness, Dundee, Lothian, and Pentland Hills—which can house over 3,000 students in single, double, and triple rooms.

[127] In 2003, The Highlander published a comic depicting a stereotypical Asian American graduate teaching assistant with poor English skills, inciting community backlash and prompting an apology from Editor-in-Chief Kahlil Ford.

ASPB's major events include the Block Party Concert, Winter Soulstice, Homecoming Bonfire and Spring Splash.

The men's golf team represented UCR in the 2004 and 2005 NCAA West Regionals after winning back-to-back Conference Championships in those respective years while having three athletes ranked in the top 100 in the country.

[140][141] Football was played until 1975, and the team won two CCAA championships before the sport was discontinued because of low attendance and in anticipation of the impact of Title IX regulations.

After the student body passed a referendum to move to Division I competition in 1998, the bear mascot, formerly called "Scotty", was professionally redesigned to look more ferocious.

[152] In line with the Scottish motif, UCR assembles a bagpipe band made up of students and staff who play at graduation and other campus events.