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ELEVEN HISTORY STATIONS describing themes and events in USC’s history have been installed on the University Park Campus, and one on the Health Sciences Campus, with 18 more on the way.
Each station, consisting of an enamel porcelain panel mounted atop an aluminum pedestal, presents an essay on an aspect of USC’s history, illustrated with photographs and colorful graphics. An outgrowth of the USC History Project, the stations cover topics ranging from the straightforward (the founding of USC and its development as a world-class research university) to the nostalgic (the origins of the Trojan Shrine) to the whimsical (campus life in the ’20s and ’30s, marked by good-natured hazing of underclassmen and the “Mascots of Troy,” from the beloved George Tirebiter to Traveler IV).
USC TRUSTEE AND Alumni Association past president Gerald Papazian has spearheaded the drive to raise funds for the stations. A history buff, Papazian has thrown himself into the project with gusto.
“A lot of people know a little of the history of USC since the ’50s, but not many know what a real, rich legacy it has from the 1880s on,” he says. “Not many people know how diverse this institution was.”
Most of the sponsors are individuals, and several are trustees, including Papazian, who sponsored the station near Mudd Hall on “Exposition Park and USC.” L. E. “Pete” Peterson, chairman of the Alumni Assoc-iation’s History Committee and a direct descendant of the Rev. Marion McKinley Bovard, the university’s first president, has co-sponsored two stations: one on the Founding of USC and the other – with Charles Dargan – on the university’s growth during the presidency of Norman Topping.
Stations have also been sponsored by graduating classes: the Class of 1990 has sponsored two (one on the USC Libraries and another called “Trojan for Life,” on the founding of the USC Alumni Association), the Class of 1996 one (“Campus Life”); and the Class of 1997 has pledged to sponsor one in Phase 2 of the project.
Other donors include Ralph and Sigrid Allman (they sponsored two stations, one on “Health Care” and one on “USC’s Olympic History”); Carl M. and Sterling C. Franklin (“A World-Class University”); Alumni Association president and USC trustee Leonard R. Fuller and Linda M. Fuller (“Creating Southern California”); Joe Boyd and Betty C. Noble (“A Gathering Place”); and Michael Lombardi (“Cam-puses of the School of Medicine” on the Health Sciences Campus.
PHASE 1 OF THE project began with the unveiling of the first station in Founders Park on Oct. 6, 1994, when USC celebrated Founders’ Day at a ceremony attended by descendants of USC’s three founding benefactors: Ozro Childs, Isaias Hellman and John Downey. The remaining 11 stations in Phase 1, including one on the Health Sciences Campus, were installed last fall.
Phase 2, currently near completion, includes a total of 30 stations on the two campuses: 25 at University Park and five at the Health Sciences Campus, honoring the founding of USC’s health sciences schools.
The stations were produced by the same team behind the USC History Project booklet Glimpses of History, 1880-1995, Sarah Lifton, who researched and wrote the book, and designer Margi Denton.
The History Project was launched in 1994 to celebrate the university’s history and traditions as it prepares to mark its 120th anniversary in 2000.
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