CAMPUS NOTES
We are less than one month away from welcoming our newest Occidental students to campus and our Orientation team is asking for the support of available staff and faculty.
- LA Engage chaperones are needed for Monday, August 21. A total of 150 first-year students will be arriving early to explore Southern California through this pre-orientation program. As a chaperone, you will guide and support these groups while exploring the landscapes, landmarks and vibrant history of Los Angeles. Contact Assistant Director of SLICE Ginny Salazar for more info
- Move-in for first-year and transfer students will also take place on Monday, August 21. REHS is seeking volunteers to assist students and their families. Sign up for a 2-3 hour shift in a variety of roles. Meals, snacks, and a T-shirt will be provided.
Thank you for helping us welcome the newest members of the Tiger family!
IN THE NEWS
Summer Research Program Inspires New Discoveries and Fruitful Collaborations
The flagship program of Occidental's Undergraduate Research Center offers students an opportunity to conduct paid research in close collaboration with professors. This year’s topics run the gamut from totalitarianism in Argentina to vaccine efficacy and a recently uncovered Liszt manuscript.
Prof. Will Power’s Acclaimed Play Makes Center Theatre Group Debut
Will Power, assistant professor of theater and performance studies, made his Center Theatre Group debut with his play Fetch Clay, Make Man, running from June 18 to July 16 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
President Elam Talks with Director Debbie Allen About the State of Performing Arts
Occidental College President Harry J. Elam, Jr. and renowned entertainer and director Debbie Allen engaged in a wide-ranging conversation about the state of performing arts on June 26.
Prof. Benjamin Weiss ’16 Named Fulbright Scholar
Benjamin Weiss ’16, assistant professor of sociology, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Fellowship to teach and do research in Lithuania in spring 2024.
Six Join Occidental Board of Trustees
The Occidental College Board of Trustees is pleased to welcome six new members to its ranks. They bring skills and expertise as well as passion for Occidental’s mission.
HR CORNER
Mark your calendars: A counselor from Oxy’s 403(b) retirement plan vendor, TIAA, will be on campus for 1:1 retirement plan counseling sessions on August 21 and August 25. Meetings will be held in the Academic Commons Carrel #124 and are by appointment only.
Here is the latest list of arrivals and departures from June 22 to July 21:
Arrivals
Celestina Castillo, Executive Director of Center for Community Based Learning
Oscar Ceballos, Production/Service Assistant
Helena Lazaro, Associate Director of Foundation Relations and Strategic Initiatives
Michelle Obergfoll, Director of Disability Services & Student Support
Kathlena Shaughnessy, Senior Associate Director of Major Gifts
Departures
Rhemi Abrams-Fuller, Associate Dean of Admission/Coordinator of Athletics Recruitment
Linda Escobar, Employment Manager
Joleen Galeazzi-Pimentel, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Jim Tranquada, Director of Communications
STAFF SHOUT-OUTS
From Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright, Intercultural Community Center director: I would love to shout-out the amazing ICC staff—Robin Maxile, Katrina Weti and Aly Escobar—for all the hard work that they have put in to execute an incredible summer MSI program for students that is filled with joy and community. Special shout-out to our amazing student assistant, Sueli Zalazar ’24, for all that she does to make this program a success.
From Vivian Garay Santiago, assistant vice president for student affairs & associate dean of students: Kudos to the Rev. Dr. Susan Young, director of the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life, for securing another grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles which will continue to fund Ben Greenberg, Oxy’s Jewish student life coordinator, for this year!
KUDOS
In a chapter titled "The Picture Project: Originating Story through Movement" for the new book Embodied Playwriting: Improv and Acting Exercises for Writing and Devising, Associate Professor of Theater & Performance Studies Sarah Kozinn details “The Picture Project,” an exercise she developed to encourage students to see themselves as creators and agents of their own artistic process, bridging the boundaries between actor, writer, director and producer. The process helps students understand how physicality shapes perception and allows them to craft characters from embodied experience.
Associate Professor of Politics Jennifer Piscopo was quoted in a Foreign Policy article on whether or not gender quotas work in elections.
Professor of Psychology Andrew Shtulman was elected the 51st president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, the premier scientific and educational organization for philosophically interested psychologists and psychologically interested philosophers.
Professor of Religious Studies Kristi Upson-Saia's new book, Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean aims to make an intervention in the ways pre-modern medicine is studied. The volume pairs 50 textual sources—many hard to access and many translated into English for the first time—with artistic, material, and scientific evidence to paint a rich and nuanced picture of ancient health and healing.
Upson-Saia has also written a new blog post weighing in on the historical precedence of a lawsuit hoping to retract approval of mifepristone. The lawsuit is spearheaded by a group claiming the authority of "Hippocratic medicine."
For more information on faculty scholarship and accomplishments, visit the Center for Research & Scholarship.