Diamond Anniversary Sparkles at Doheny
Photo/USC Archives
Over the next several months, a virtual exhibition, tours and other activities will celebrate the Romanesque structure’s architectural and intellectual significance to USC.
“An exquisite repository of knowledge, the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library has been a wellspring of intellectual inquiry and reflection for generations of Trojans in the past and will be for generations still to come,” said USC President Steven B. Sample.
“Built in honor of a Trojan, this lofty edifice – the face of USC at each commencement – is a living monument to the nobility of learning as well as a gateway to exploring the world through its wealth of resources.”
That combination of preserving the past and inspiring the future is the mark of a great research library, said Catherine Quinlan, dean of the USC Libraries.
“Doheny Library embodies the legacy of the Doheny family, forever reminding us of their commitment to preserving the past for tomorrow’s scholars,” Quinlan said.
“Yet within the stately architecture, the excitement for creating new knowledge is as powerful as the reverence for what came before. It’s that strength of cultural and intellectual continuity that allows the spirit of discovery to persist and thrive.”
The parents of prominent USC alumnus Edward L. Doheny Jr. donated $1.1 million for the library’s construction. Estelle Doheny – Edward’s stepmother – was so pleased when the building was completed that she made an additional gift to fund landscaping. As a result, Trojans enjoy the sycamore-lined quadrangle known as Alumni Memorial Park.
The library’s dedication ceremony was front-page news across the country. Even in the midst of the Great Depression, newspapers celebrated the occasion.
In the decades since, Doheny Library has become one of USC’s most recognizable landmarks. The library has hosted countless authors, scholars and world leaders – including U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford. It has been a fixture in Hollywood movies ranging from The Graduate to Live Free or Die Hard.
The library has changed over the years to best serve the academic, technological and study-space needs of USC’s students and faculty. It gained 53,000 square feet in a 1967 addition that altered its original “H” design. A seismic retrofit closed the building from 1999-2001, during which time preservationists also restored the splendor of the interior architectural details.
In 2006, the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation donated $1 million to create the LiteraTea teahouse and renovate the surrounding courtyard and entryway. The resulting Younes and Soraya Nazarian Pavilion has become a popular social and academic destination for students and faculty.
Architectural changes notwithstanding, the library’s inspirational character persists.
“It is the place where ideas are explored, creativity honored, the written word immortalized and the pursuit of truth held sacred,” Sample said.
In 1932, Los Angeles Times journalist Ransome Sutton wrote of the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library: “To be sure, the library will stand there a long time – as long perhaps, as Los Angeles lasts.”
Information on other diamond-anniversary events and activities will be available at www.usc.edu/libraries as they are scheduled.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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