President John Brooks Slaughter in 1988
The Journey of John Brooks Slaughter
Occidental's 11th president arrived on campus in 1988 amid national fanfare and great expectations—and in the 11 years to follow, John Brooks Slaughter brought out the best in Oxy

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). 

What's the story behind Oxy's new department of comparative studies in literature and culture?
Orphaned before World War I and befriended by an American regiment, Dostert engineered the simultaneous translation system used at Nuremberg and the United Nations—and even sparked the...
Roger Guenveur Smith '77 reflects on the characters that have stayed with him the most
Whether it's Christopher Columbus, Frederick Douglass, Huey Newton, or Rodney King, writer-performer Roger Guenveur Smith '77 brings his subjects to life with reams of research and a touch...
Fall15_Veitch
After more than 2,300 days into the job, President Jonathan Veitch shares some of the lessons he's learned
Fall15_Presidency
There's no one path to becoming a college or university president, but a handful of Oxy alumni have found the way. It's a job with infinite challenges—and innumerable rewards
Data from Oxy's first-ever Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey, conducted last spring in conjunction with the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, show that:
Fall15_ProjectSAFE
By getting out the message early and often, turning bystanders into Upstanders, and facilitating conversations across various constituencies, Oxy takes a proactive approach to preventing...
Fall15_GreenerOxy2
From beehives and hybrids to shower heads and deep-fryers, sustainability is a buzzword on campus
Fall15_Seeds
From gardens and galleries to glaciers and green funds, "sustainability" means change across the Oxy landscape
Summer15_Morrisons
Brothers Willie and Truman Morrison '07 started making music at Oxy and took their act to the Roxy. Now they're knocking on Nashville's door
Summer15_OxyTalk
Ming Cho Lee '53 didn't turn into the "dean of American set designers" overnight. But as biographer Arnold Aronson explains, it was Omar Paxson '48 who turned Lee into a designer
Summer15_Bookshelf
New additions to the Oxy bookshelf
Fueled by a resurgent track team, a strong women's lacrosse squad, and standouts in tennis and baseball, Oxy goes out on a high
Two decades after Alicia Silverstone and crew stormed into shopping malls and cinemas, a new book and a popular blog document the timelessness of Clueless —and Oxy's role in its making

Features

Lori Howard ’81 of Pinch Me Provence
A Pinch of Provence
Lori Howard ’81 kept a place in her heart for France following her study abroad experience at Oxy. Now she’s curating custom holiday experiences for a growing clientele in the French...
Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Keala Ede
Longboard of the Law
As the first Native Hawaiian judge in Minnesota history, Keala Ede ’00 brings a commitment to justice to his courtroom—and a taste of surf culture to the shores of Lake Superior
Members of the Occidental Class of 2027
New Faces of 2027
Occidental’s 140th-anniversary class is among its most diverse—and they have a lot to say about everything from activism and athletics to culture and chocolates
Roland Griffiths '68
The Other Side of Roland Griffiths
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor, who died in October, was lauded for his ‘mind-blowing’ studies of psychedelics. But Barry Sears ’68 remembers his ‘wicked sense of humor’

First Word

From the Quad

Coach Rod Lafaurie and members of the 2023 men's soccer team
Kicking and Dreaming
From its first SCIAC championship to a berth in the Sweet 16, Oxy men’s soccer soared to new heights this season. But Coach Rod Lafaurie and his players are hungry for more
Adam Kinzinger, 2023 Jack Kemp ’57 Distinguished Lecturer at Occidental College
Making the Case for Democracy
Jack Kemp ’57 Distinguished Lecturer and former Congressman Adam Kinzinger has a message for students: “You will be the generation that changes everything”

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...

Oxy Talk

Professor of History Emeritus Wellington Chan
One for the History Books
An estate commitment from Gary Kaplan ’71 honors Professor Emeritus Wellington Chan—whom he helped bring to Occidental more than 50 years ago
Assistant professors Sohaib Khan (religious studies), Season Blake (philosophy), Jamie Amemiya (psychology), and Zachary Silver (psychology).
Thinking Globally
Occidental’s largest-ever cohort of new tenure-track faculty brings a world of ideas to the classroom

Last Page

Dean of Students Emerita Brig Knauer
Flowers for Brig Knauer
Over 25 years of leadership in Occidental’s Office of Student Affairs, Brigida Knauer (1935-2023) shepherded residential life into the modern era
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