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Sustainability activities at Occidental College.
Changing the Climate
Emboldened by a proactive student body, Oxy doubles down on its commitment to a more sustainable campus

Occidental magazine brings you campus news, in-depth features, and profiles of exceptional alumni. For the 2024-25 academic year, the magazine will publish two print and digital issues (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025) and two digital-only issues (Summer 2024 and Winter 2025).

Spring15Mag_Deardorff
"We three are living proof that, when you look at what you put into teaching and what you get out of it, we have gotten so much more than we have put in."
Spring15Mag_Carawan
When Guy Carawan '49 returned to campus in 2003 after more than half a century away, he had changed the world through the power of song. Professor Peter Dreier remembers the folk musician...
SpringMag15_Todd
Oxy's purchase of a retail space in Highland Park creates an opportunity to raise its local visibility
SpringMag15_Beneath
Whether it's replacing pipes, roofs, boilers, or cooling systems, there's nothing sexy about deferred maintenance. But proactive measures now can save a mountain of heartache later
Spring15Mag_Bob&Omar
Bob and Omar: Masters of Lifelong Learning
Overlooked athletes from a century of SCIAC, and other reactions to Oxy's plans to revive athletics
Spring15Mag_Veitch
Lessons of the Third L.A.
Spring15Mag_Phoebe
One of Oxy's most decorated and beloved faculty is calling it a career after 22 years in the chemistry department. But Phoebe Dea isn't packing up her things just yet
Spring15Mag_Washington
With Gerald Washington '04 in the role of corporate matchmaker, Steve Harvey's global visibility is spreading faster than kudzu. And Washington's personal journey from financial ruin to the...
Professor Bob Gottlieb was a champion of environmental and social justice causes long before they became fashionable. Students and colleagues celebrate his influence and impact
Spring15Mag_Kantor
Psychotherapist Julia Postolov Kantor '96 began a love affair with French music through Oxy's study abroad program. Now she's the toast of Francophiles on L.A.'s cabaret scene
Spring15Mag_Ebola
Associate professor Mary Beth Heffernan saw a problem with Ebola care in Africa—personal protection equipment suits that made the medical workers wearing them appear frightening and...
Winter15_Somabar
Dylan Purcell-Lowe '12 taps into the Oxy network to kickstart the ultimate home bartending device
Winter15_Greenlight
Independent filmmaker Julien Lasseur '11 had never heard of Project Greenlight before his girlfriend told him about the contest. But a smart superhero parody took him into the top 10
Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne brings the city's future into focus in a series of public talks

Features

Campaign Semester participants Cady Carr '27 and Rachel Obbard '27
Ground Game
For Campaign Semester students in battleground Pennsylvania and 13 other states, the road map to Election Day entails knocking on every door
Actor Loren Lester ’83 in Times Square
Broadway Baby
In the third act of a career that spans stage, screen, and television, actor Loren Lester ’83 realizes a lifelong dream of performing on the Great White Way
The Occidental Gospel Choir in 1975.
Precious Memories
Founded by students in 1971, the Occidental Gospel Choir made music for a quarter-century—and a reunion of former members celebrates its nearly forgotten legacy
Sam Rubin '82 and Stacie Roshon '08
The Morning Showman
Sam Rubin ’82 became a fixture of the entertainment journalism landscape over his 33 years with KTLA—and his unexpected death in May resonated well beyond Hollywood's red carpets
Hats Off to Patt!
Patt Morrison ’74 shares a curated collection of books with Special Collections—and 50 years of words and wisdom in conversation with Larry Mantle

First Word

From the Quad

Tylor Lee '26 interned with Healthcare in Action, which provides healthcare and social services to unhoused people.
Summer in the City
A 10-week summer internship program pairs 28 Oxy students with 20 community partners to contribute to the work of advancing social justice in Los Angeles
Occidental’s women's basketball team after winning the 2024 SCIAC Post­season Tournament championship.
Bringing the Heat
Playing through injuries, fatigue, and in front of opposing crowds, Oxy’s ‘relentless’ women’s hoops team wins its way into the NCAA tourney
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

Mixed Media

Author Susan Coll '81, photographed at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.
Mixed Media
Susan Coll ’81’s latest comic novel, Professor Amy Lyford’s examination of the art and life of Dorothea Tanning, and more

Oxy Talk

Suke Takayuki Kubota in an undated photo.
Oxy’s Samurai Grandmaster
Soke Takayuki Kubota (1934-2024) became a martial arts legend, developing his own karate style and amassing a worldwide following. And for more than 40 years, he taught his methods to the...
Spectators view the OCLAA oral history gallery in the Academic Commons in February 2024.
Voices of OCLAA
Realizing a long-standing goal of Occidental’s Latino Alumni Association, two dozen alumni share their stories with students for an oral history project

Last Page

Journalist Max Chun '19 in the offices of Lookout Santa Cruz.
Local Heroes
When disaster struck his native Santa Cruz last year, reporter Max Chun ’19 and a small team of journalists sprang into action for their community—and pocketed a Pulitzer Prize for their work
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