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). 

Winter14_RoseHills
Oxy's new student center blossoms into a hub of activity
Winter14_CODE
A group of faculty and students call for a renewed commitment to Oxy's mission of excellence and equity
Winter14_Bookshelf
Memoirs by Susan Hamilton '65 and Randy Jurado Ertll '95; an examination of China's emerging rural crisis by assistant professor of history Alexander Day; and piano doctor Richard Davenport...
Winter14_Letters
Professor Alan Freeman '66 M'67 and actress Joanna Hall Gleason '72 pay tribute to their friend and mentor, Omar Paxson '48
Old Problem, New Thinking
Winter14_TakeaBow
Paralympian archer Ashlee Sheppard '11 raises her game to the world stage
A campus-wide focus on water may have ­compelled a few Oxy students to break the rules in a competition between residence halls. But it's also provoked a serious conversation about Earth's...
Winter14_Storm
A combination of economic, demographic, and social factors precipitated Oxy's endowment woes throughout the 1990s. Now the balance sheet is far better—but the College has a long way to go to...
Acclaimed and unsettling, Blackfish is a high-water mark for documentary filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite '93. What does its success bode for her career—and what will the fallout be for...
With a resume as a playwright, director, actor, and professor, the late Omar Paxson '48 created enough memories to sell out a lifetime of Summer Drama Festivals. Still, his greatest legacy...
Fall13_Maurissa
From singing in a Motown girl group to writing banter for Britney Spears, Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon '97 knows the fringes of the pop-culture circuit. With TV's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she...
Fall13_Kang
Having survived her share of video corpses, Angela Kang '98 finds her footing as a writer/producer on TV's hottest series, AMC's "The Walking Dead"
Fall13_Andrews
Richard Andrews '71 connects visionary artists such as James Turrell—a Pomona graduate—with the means to make transformative art a reality
A closer look at the eight Oxy greats—four living, four deceased—who were inducted into the 2013 Athletics Hall of Fame
Fall13_Baseball63
When the 1963 Oxy baseball team took the field against intercity rival USC, a casual fan would have predicted a Trojan blowout. But Coach Grant Dunlap '46 had a not-so-secret weapon on the...

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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