LTC David Babcock delivers opening remarks. Photo credit: Natalie Hadland, OVPTL Communications.
At UC Irvine, the start of a new year is a celebration of new beginnings and endless possibilities. As campus welcomed the 2025-26 academic year, few units embodied this spirit of fresh starts as fully as the UC Irvine Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), as they proudly unveiled their new facility to a crowd of students, faculty, and staff.
Featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening remarks from program and campus leadership, the ROTC Open House offered a great chance to explore the new facility at Continuing Education (CE) Building 5 and learn more about the program by speaking directly with cadets and cadre. Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) David Babcock, UC Irvine Professor of Military Science, kicked off the event with opening remarks that thanked the many campus partners who helped the program acquire and transition into their new facility. He also emphasized the importance of having a dedicated space and how it would revolutionize the program and the support it could offer its cadets.
“This space represents more than just four walls and a roof. It represents UC Irvine’s commitment to its students, this program, and developing future leaders of our nation,” said LTC Babcock. He added, “This is the first time that we’ve had dedicated space for our senior officers to do counseling with cadets and conduct one-on-one mentoring to make sure that they achieve academically, but also in the military sense as we develop them as leaders.”
Following LTC Babcock, Michael Dennin, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, reflected on the start of the ROTC program and how it has grown and evolved to become one of campus’s premier leadership programs. He recalled:
Vice Provost Michael Dennin delivers opening remarks. Photo credit: Natalie Hadland, OVPTL Communications.
“At UC Irvine, academic programs are controlled by the Council of Educational Policy in the Academic Senate, and I was actually on that council when the students came and proposed the ROTC curriculum and program. It was incredibly impressive because it was the students who wrote the proposal, came in, and presented. So this program is thanks to the original students who started it, and I think this is a great testament to what UC Irvine is and who our students are.”
LTC Babcock; Vice Provost Dennin; Major Trent Frum, Anteater Detachment Officer in Charge and Assistant Professor of Military Science; and Jennifer Aaron, Associate Vice Provost and Chief of Staff for the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, had the honor of cutting the ribbon that officially marked the opening of the new facility. Attendees were then invited to tour the facility, speak to cadets and program leadership, and enjoy refreshments on the back patio.
Associate Vice Provost Jennifer Aaron (far left), LTC David Babcock (second from left), Vice Provost Michael Dennin (second from right), and MAJ Trent Frum (far right) cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of the new UC Irvine ROTC facility. Photo credit: Natalie Hadland, OVPTL Communications
MAJ Trent Frum delivers opening remarks. Photo credit: Natalie Hadland, OVPTL Communications
“We could not be more excited about the Open House and the incredible support we received from our university community,” said Major Frum. He continued:
“The event was the culmination of several months of outreach, and it directly contributed to welcoming a record-setting class of seventeen freshmen—the largest in our program’s history. In addition, it has sparked new partnership opportunities that will allow our instructor cadre to share their expertise in ways that strengthen both Army ROTC and the broader UC Irvine community.”
About UC Irvine Army ROTC
The U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program recruits, educates, develops, and inspires student cadets in order to commission as officers of character and serve in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard.
At UC Irvine, the ROTC program instills core values and leadership skills through the military training student cadets receive while completing their undergraduate course of study. The UC Irvine ROTC program is organized and operated by students in the Anteater Military Association who lead their peers in the conduct of physical fitness, technical skill development, military training, and social events. Student cadets participate in up to four years of military science and leadership courses that run in conjunction with their academic studies. Because the Army has a wide range of careers in more places around the world than any other U.S. military branch, the ROTC offers mentorship, shadowing opportunities, and real-world leadership training to prepare cadets to succeed in their professional endeavors. Cadets also receive unique opportunities, such as the chance to study abroad, work at museum and engineering internships, and participate in special military training.
Visit the UC Irvine ROTC website to learn more about the program and follow them on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with program news, updates, and events. Interested students can also visit the new ROTC facility at Continuing Education (CE) Building 5 for additional information.
UC Irvine ROTC cadets pose with Vice Provost Michael Dennin (center). Photo credit: Natalie Hadland, OVPTL Communications.