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It’s not every day that you see Marios Papaefthymiou, Dean of UC Irvine’s School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), walking around campus with a pair of oversized scissors. Yet there he stood, giant silver and gold scissors in hand, on January 9, 2025, in the courtyard between the ICS1 and ICS2 buildings. Flanked by balloons, he was excited to cut the ribbon for the grand opening of a new student hub hosted by the Stacey Nicholas Office of Outreach, Access & Inclusion (OAI). Joining him was OAI Assistant Director Vinh Luong and UCI Foundation Trustee Stacey Nicholas. The trio joyfully marked the official opening of the OAI Student Hub.

Vinh Luong, Stacey Nicholas and Dean Marios using oversized scissors to cut a large blue ribbon. Stacey is in the center, laughing.
The ribbon cutting for the new OAI Student Hub (from left): Vinh Luong, Stacey Nicholas and Dean Marios.

Luong thanked Nicholas, who gifted $5 million to OAI in 2023, for her continued support. “Stacey has been a champion for access, for inclusion, for opportunity, and we’re super grateful for her support throughout the years.” The Student Hub, located in ICS2, room 136, is central to OAI’s vision of inclusive excellence.

“This is more than just a physical space,” said Luong. “This is a symbol of us telling the world that we, as a school and as a campus, care about creating and building a sense of equal opportunity [and] a vibrant and supportive community for everyone who is here on this campus.”

The large room has booths, desks and chairs set up around white boards and screens for easy collaboration. It aims to be a place where students, staff, faculty and community members can come together to share ideas.

Four students sit around a table with laptops
A group gathered for discussion and learning in the OAI Student Hub.

It is also home to the OAI Tutoring Program, which offers individual tutoring to all ICS students, free of charge. “We can ask for help,” said Luong, encouraging students to leverage OAI’s available resources. “We can give help, we can give mentorship and we can give guidance.”

Ananya Jajoo and Julie Lindo stand by a sign that says OAI Tutoring: mentoring, workshops and conferences.
Computer science student and OAI tutor Ananya Jajoo (left) and OAI Director of Outreach Julie Lindo share information about free tutoring offered through the Student Hub.

He also stressed that the Student Hub is a space for celebrating our differences. “It’s a space for us to celebrate our different experiences, our different perspectives,” he said, “and for us to come together as a community.”

Learn more about individual tutoring offered at the OAI Student Hub. In addition to supporting ICS students, OAI also has several programs targeting K-12 outreach.

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