Alcala Yearbook 1993-1994

Lasting Commitment

given to a USO graduate, went to a USO employee - Professor Whitcomb. The selection of Professor Whitcomb marked a departure from the alumni as– sociation's criteria that eliminates fac– ulty and staff members from the list of possible recipients. Anne Lonnecker, who received the award in 1988, said Whitcomb's "contri– butions to the University and the San Diego community are so unique that the Alumni Board has chosen to make an exception-an exception that will proba– bly be made once in the life of this Uni– versity." For her lasting commitment to the University of San Diego, we now dedi– cate Volume 39 of the Alcala to Therese Truitt Whitcomb.

Since then, Ms. Whitcomb has gradu– ated to designing the interiors and exte– riors of multi-million dollar buildings at USO and elsewhere. At USO, Whitcomb is responsible for all interior and exte– rior design. As a result, the University has a consistent Spanish renaissance ar– chitecture. As an art professor, Terry has distin– guished herself. In 1976, her peers awarded her the Outstanding Teacher Award of the Year. Nine years later, fel– low faculty and community leaders se– lected her as the recipient of the Lowell Davies Award for Faculty Achievement. Established in 1984, the award is given annually to a faculty member for out– standing achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service. For the first time in USO history, the Bishop Buddy Award, the highest honor

In many ways, Terry Whitcomb is USO. All you have to do is tour the cam– pus. She is an art professor, she is direc– tor of design for all campus interiors and exteriors, she is founder and direc– tor of the University's art gallery, and she is the first graduate of USO. Actually, in 1954, Professor Whit– comb was the first graduate of the San Diego College for Women, which merged in 1972 with the College for Men and became known as USO. Whitcomb first became interested in art history as a child of seven, when she was bedridden with polio. During her two-year recuperation, her mother, Grace Truitt, read to her about art and history. During that difficult time, the talented child managed to design the in– terior of a huge dollhouse, each room done in a different time period.

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