Whitmore Receives Alumni Achievement Award

PULLMAN, Wash. – A past graduate of Washington State University was presented with the WSU Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award on Saturday, May 6. The award was presented to Jon Whitmore during the College of Liberal Arts Commencement Ceremony.

Whitmore, the president of Texas Tech University, graduated from WSU in 1968 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in speech and is a Life Member in the WSUAA. His doctoral degree in dramatic arts is from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In his acceptance speech Whitmore recalled how his experiences at WSU allowed him the opportunity to grow up intellectually, socially and culturally. Whitmore thanked faculty, staff and fellow students for giving him the courage to follow his dreams. He also explained to graduates what it means to truly prosper.

“To prosper means giving your time to your community, your state, your nation, and especially to your family and friends,” Whitmore said. Whitmore encouraged graduates to go out into the world and help fix things. He told his audience not to run away from bad situations but to instead stick around and help make those situations better.

“As Cougars forever and ever, I want each of you to prosper and fix things,” Whitmore said.

Prior to becoming the president of Texas Tech University Whitmore was the provost of theatre arts at the University of Iowa. Before that he was the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.

Since his time at WSU Whitmore has been active not only in collegiate academics and administration but also in publications. He has published several books on theatre as well as numerous articles. Whitmore has dedicated a large portion of his time to the theatre, having directed more than 60 theatrical performances in a collegiate setting.

Whitmore is the 454th WSU graduate to receive the award. The WSU Alumni Achievement Award was created in 1970 to recognize alumni who have given outstanding service to WSU and made contributions to their professions, community and nation. The award encourages alumni to provide perpetual service to WSU.