Alcalá View 1995 11.10

New Designer Following in 'Big FooJsteps' By Jill Wagner The wooden door just a few steps

Benefit Briefs The Personal Assistance Service (EAP provider) and Robert T. Dorris and Associ- ates Inc. have merged. Em- ployee assistance service will now be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Counselors are available to help employees, their spouse or dependents deal with a broad range of issues. For confidential assistance, call (800) 367-7474. Information fliers are available in human resources. Employees on medical leave may be eligible to receive Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits after 90 days of leave. The minimum bene- fit is approximately $100. The standard benefit is equal to two-thirds of the employee's pre-disability salary. When granted, LTD bene- fits are usually considered taxable income, just like wages earned. However, if an employee chooses to pay taxes on the LTD premium each month, the benefit will not be taxed. Your election to pay taxes on the premium must be made before a med- ical disability takes place. This is an election you should consider if you have not already chosen the non-tax- able benefit option. Call Esther at ext. 8762 for details. Kaiser Permanente offers a number of health education programs each month, including classes on parent- ing, smoking control , weight management, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stress management. Some classes are available to Kaiser participants only. Others are open to anyone who is interested. Many of the classes are free, although some require a small fee . Calendars listing classes for the month are available in human resources. - Vicki Coscia

from the northwest entrance of Founders Hall is unobtrusive and simple, with the namep late prov id- ing the only clue as to what lies beyond in the long, narrow office. This month the name Ruth Stanton is posted on the door that fo r years read Prof. T. Whitcomb. Stanton took over July 1 as director of institut ional design , a position that the retiring Terry Whitcomb held for 12 years. Wh itcomb also was a USO professor of fine arts beginning in 1961 . For those who know Whi tcomb,

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Terry Whitcomb (standing) retired June 30, turning over interior designing responsibilities to Ruth Stanton.

when she was the first graduate of the College fo r Women. Stanton smiles at how much she has learned about USO - and how many miles she has covered on foo t - since spend ing the last couple of mon ths working part-time with Whitcomb. She brings with her a vast knowledge of trad itional European des ign , including 16 years with the La Jolla-based firm Ross Thiele and Son . Stanton has made numerous buying trips to Europe and considers those travels some of her bes t education in in terior design. "Much of my tra ining comes from going to Europe and buying and seeing and visually being a part of the history," she says. The new director is eager to make her mark in USO's history but knows it will not be easy replacing Whitcomb , who has been a part of the university from the day it grad - uated its first student. "Terry h as big foo t- steps to fo llow," Stanton says. Wild West Picnic (Continued from page one) Weinsheim rece ived $200, and her name is engraved on the plaque that hangs in Maher Hall. Carmen Barcena, ass istant dean of the School of Business Administration, was named Administrator of the Year by the Staff Employees Association . (Watch for profiles on all the winners in upcoming issues of the Alcala View.) Employees celebrating their 10-, 15-, 20- and 25-year anniversaries will be honored at a celebration this fa ll.

or the reputation that precedes her, it is no surprise the office has the look of a work- shop, with pa int cans, tile samples and fur- n iture catalogs stacked on wooden shelves. Blueprints of the renovation of the Author E. and Marjorie A. Hughes Administration Center cover a draft ing table in the com er. It is the work space of an interior des igner whose hands-on approach to her craft has turned A lcala Park into a universally admired campus. Stan ton says she in tends to be just as involved as Whitcomb with campus pro- jects, from the pa int ing of classrooms to the des igning of each office in the new adminis- tration bu ild ing. "You have to be very involved and very personally aware of what's going on around you," she says. "It is often the detail that pulls the whole th ing together." In fact, it is the care for detail that so impresses Stanton about h er predecessor. "There is so much though tfulness that has gone into the des ign and tone of the build- ings, like the Spanish Renaissance signage painted on the walls, th e photographs of Spanish architecture throughout the campus and the display cases in Traditions," she says. "There's a real sense of serenity and beauty that creates a very foc used learning environment." Whitcomb worked tireless ly to create a peaceful and cohesive setting inside each university building, having a say in every- thing from choice of floor coverings to lampshades to office furniture. Her familiari- ty with the campus stretches back to 1952,