Jim Hobbs had a student job in ICS when he heard that the then-department had been authorized to offer an undergraduate major. He dropped what he was doing and headed for the registrar’s office, becoming the first undergraduate to declare ICS as his major at UC Irvine. He organized the department’s first computer lab (a Varian Data 620/i and teletypewriters), and after earning his bachelor’s degree in 1973, stayed on as a university employee, becoming manager of system programming at the campus computing facility.

In 1978, Mr. Hobbs had an opportunity to join the Intel Corporation, where he had a series of technical management positions in information technology and telecommunications, followed by work in enterprise architecture. The favorite part of his work was the application of IT experience to long-range and product planning. After almost three decades at Intel, he retired in 2008, where he now spends his time doing volunteer work and with his family.

Throughout the years, Jim has always maintained close ties to UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS). In 1998, in honor of his beloved mentor, ICS Founding Faculty and Chair, Julian Feldman, Hobbs and his wife, Monica, established the Julian Feldman Scholarship, funded through annual donations that continue to this day. The scholarship, which became an endowed scholarship in 2006, has touched the lives of more 30 undergraduate ICS students. Jim Hobbs has also be honored along with an esteemed group of alumni to the UC Irvine Lauds & Laurels, which recognize alumni whose achievements have brought distinction to their his alma mater.