"Mother of Lions," by Robert Martinez
Living in a Wildlife Corridor
An immersive exhibit at Descanso Gardens underscores the diversity and proximity of Southern California wildlife—and the efforts under way to improve their mobility

Occidental magazine brings you campus news, in-depth features, and profiles of exceptional alumni. For the 2023-24 academic year, the magazine will publish two print and digital issues (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024) and two digital-only issues (Summer 2023 and Winter 2024). 

Occidental's ARCCS (A Rain­water Collection and Cleaning System).
In response to California’s prolonged drought, the College reduces its water usage on campus
Occidental's new Cannon Plaza, foreground.
A reimagined gathering space for the Oxy community, high marks for Oxy in a handful of major college guides, and a lifetime achievement award for Professor Emerita Betchen Barber
Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959), written by Ernest Lehman.
Ernest Lehman's screenplays for films such as North by Northwest helped define a generation of moviemaking. Biographer Jon Krampner '74 explores the life of this lauded yet elusive character
President Elam addresses new and returning students at Convocation on August 29.
From rebuilding a sense of community to completing the Integrated Strategic Plan, President Elam outlines Occidental’s priorities for the new academic year
Alumni Reunion Weekend on Saturday, June 11, 2022
The work of the Alumni Board of Governors builds connections to the College
Phil and Sydney Nichols
Phil and Sydney Nichols' generosity to Oxy will resonate across generations to come
Kristina Kvien ’87, nominee for U.S. ambassador to Armenia
For 2½ years, Kristina Kvien ’87 led U.S. diplomacy efforts inside the embattled and resilient nation—her latest post in a 30-year career with the Foreign Service
George Stevens Jr. '53 with President Obama in 2011.
From Elizabeth Taylor to President Obama, George Stevens Jr. ’53 reflects on an unparalleled career from the backlots of Hollywood to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.
George Stevens Jr. '53 in 2002.
From Winter 2003: For 25 years, George Stevens Jr. ’53 has saluted living legends in performing arts through the Kennedy Center Honors. But it’s only one career peak for a producer whose...
Graduating members of the Occidental College Class of 2022
‘Embrace the impossible because you can make it possible,’ State Senator tells the 489 members of the Class of 2022
A wall drawing of Janet Stafford was created by artist Kenturah Davis '02 in 2012
Janet Stafford, George Ellison, and Barbara Bowman Wright made Oxy history as the College’s first Black graduates in 1952. What is their legacy?
Author Susan Coll '81, photographed at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.
A canceled poet, a toddling tortoise, and the Schwarzenegger of vacuum cleaners turn a D.C. bookstore upside down in Susan Coll ’81’s sixth comic novel
NASA Astrobiologist Jason Dworkin ’91
Astrobiologist Jason Dworkin ’91 has devoted the better part of two decades to a NASA mission to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. What will we learn when OSIRIS-REx arrives home next year?
Mel Malberg '79, editor of Women of Walt Disney Imagineering
Mel Malmberg ’79 documents the true-life adventures of the Women of Walt Disney Imagineering
2022-23 Obama Scholars
Five years after its launch, Oxy’s Obama Scholars Program expands its cohort and doubles down on its mission

Features

Dr. Roland Griffiths '68
Into the Mystic
From Spring 2009: After a lifetime of rigorous research on the effects of drugs on animals and humans, neuroscientist Roland Griffiths ’68 meditates on the spiritual powers of hallucinogens
Gay and Lesbian Association members in 1984.
Rainbow Connections
Nearly 40 years after its formation, Out@Oxy has a new name and a renewed mission—to support Occidental’s LGBTQIA+ student community and curate a queer history of the College
Meko Winbush '03, winning director of Project Greenlight
All Eyes on Meko
Winning Project Greenlight and making her first feature film has opened doors for Meko Winbush ’03. In return, she endured eight months in front of the camera
"Mother of Lions," by Robert Martinez
Living in a Wildlife Corridor
An immersive exhibit at Descanso Gardens underscores the diversity and proximity of Southern California wildlife—and the efforts under way to improve their mobility
Adam Schoenberg
Fanfare for a Mountain Lion
Associate Professor of Music Adam Schoenberg found inspiration from ‘L.A.’s coolest cat’—and his latest composition may have helped save his own life

First Word

From the Quad

Mixed Media

A performance of Fetch Clay, Make Man featuring four Black actors onstage
Power Dynamics
Exploring the unlikely friendship between two Black cultural icons—Muhammad Ali and Stepin Fetchit—professor and playwright Will Power’s Fetch Clay, Make Man packs a punch with L.A...
Richard Carlson '60, author of Mekong Medicine
Mixed Media
U.S. Army Medical Corps veteran Richard Carlson ’60 on his Vietnam memoir, Mekong Medicine, and more

Oxy Talk

Keegan McChesney '16 and David Wigglesworth '50 M'53
Dave and Me
Separated by 66 years but drawn together by an Oxy bumper sticker, David Wigglesworth ’50 M’53 and Keegan McChesney ’16 became fast friends a decade ago. Keegan remembers his oldest friend...
 Tye Hernandez ’23 (track and field), an economics/politics double major from Brea.
Senior Moments
Ten standout student-athletes from Occidental’s Class of 2023 discuss the challenges and rewards of sticking with their sport through the pandemic

Last Page

Occidental College Professor of Chemistry Frank Lambert
Lessons From Lambert
Fifty-seven years after an ill-fated grade placed his academic dreams in jeopardy, Dr. Elliott Oppenheim ’69 recalls the counsel of his mentor, Professor of Chemistry Frank Lambert
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