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Members of the Occidental Class of 2028.
Origin Stories
Before arriving at Occidental, these eight members of the Class of ’28 (and a transfer student from the Class of ’27) discovered their superpowers in the classroom, in their communities, in competition, and in service to their...

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 one digital-only issue (Summer 2024).

"Mother of Lions," by Robert Martinez
An immersive exhibit at Descanso Gardens underscores the diversity and proximity of Southern California wildlife—and the efforts under way to improve their mobility
Gay and Lesbian Association members in 1984.
Nearly 40 years after its formation, Out@鶹Ƶ has a new name and a renewed mission—to support Occidental’s LGBTQIA+ student community and curate a queer history of the College
Isabel Wilkerson speaks at 鶹Ƶ's 2023 Commencement.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Isabel Wilkerson addresses the Class of 2023 at Occidental's 141st Commencement ceremony
Meko Winbush '03, winning director of Project Greenlight
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
A performance of Fetch Clay, Make Man featuring four Black actors onstage
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...
Adam Schoenberg
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
Members of Occidental's Fifty Year Club at Reunion Weekend in June 2023
As the academic year begins, the Occidental Alumni Board of Governors is gearing up for a busy fall season.
A view of the AGC administration building
The 鶹Ƶ Board of Trustees welcomed six new members to its ranks in July. Trustees are elected to four-year terms and can serve up to 12 consecutive years following their...
鶹Ƶ President Harry J. Elam, Jr.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions on race-conscious admission practices, Occidental is committed to adhering to the cornerstones of its historic mission
Keegan McChesney '16 and David Wigglesworth '50 M'53
Separated by 66 years but drawn together by an 鶹Ƶ bumper sticker, David Wigglesworth ’50 M’53 and Keegan McChesney ’16 became fast friends a decade ago. Keegan remembers his oldest friend...
鶹Ƶ Professor of Chemistry Frank 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
18 Young Scientists to Watch
Occidental’s labs are the launching pads for countless careers in the sciences—and here are 18 graduates of the last 20 years, nominated by their former faculty mentors, doing exemplary work...
Illumination Chief Marketing Officer Sam Bergen '04
Following the record-shattering box office launch of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Illumination Chief Marketing Officer Sam Bergen ’04 recounts his journey from Campus Road to Rainbow Road
Professor Linda Besemer, working with a straight edge on a lift at their studio in 2022.
Retiring from teaching—but not from painting—following their Guggenheim sabbatical year, Besemer says of their time at the College, "Occidental gave me a life where I could thrive"
鶹Ƶ Professor Nina Gelbart
Occidental's longest currently active faculty member reflects on her 48 years at the College, selecting the subjects of her books, and her plans for retirement

Features

Eddie Gorton ’01, Paul “PK” Kim ’98, and David Murphy ’02
Sitting Down With the Stand-ups
Paul “PK” Kim ’98, Eddie Gorton ’01, and David Murphy ’02 trace their comic odysseys from talent shows and laundromats to Thorne Hall and the Laugh Factory
Professor William D. Ward at his desk in the Hall of Letters on Occidental’s Highland Park campus.
Unseen Occidental
From 1898 to 1914, 鶹Ƶ called Highland Park home—and a treasure trove of photos from the 1910s offers a glimpse of campus life before the move to Eagle Rock
Filmmaker Angelina Lee '22
Farm to Film
Combining her interest in sustainability with her prowess behind the camera, Angelina Lee ’22 harvests a new documentary around permaculture
Ben Dalgetty ’10 in the Office of the Mayor in Seattle.
Campaign Trails
Campaign Semester can be a gateway to a career in politics, advocacy work, or even elected office, as seven seasoned campaigners will attest
Members of the Occidental Class of 2028.
Origin Stories
Before arriving at Occidental, these eight members of the Class of ’28 (and a transfer student from the Class of ’27) discovered their superpowers in the classroom, in their communities, in...

First Word

From the Quad

Chris Kim, the Choi Family Director of Instrumental Music, conducts the Occidental Symphony in a performance of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”
The Sounds of Branca
A concert for the ages celebrates the generations-spanning clientele of music attorney John Branca ’72 and the launch of the John Branca Institute for Music
Members of the Pacific Crossings “Dream Team”: From left, Nakatsuka, Gilder Lehrman program coordinator Leah Baer, administrative assistant Thea Wilson ’24, and Hong.
Teachable Moments
Associate Professor Jane Hong and a “dream team” of educators bring 150 years of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history into focus
Projects for Peace participants Stephen Amankonah Sekyere ’27 and Eleanor Goddard ’25
A STEM Grows in Ghana
Projects for Peace participants Eleanor Goddard ’25 and Stephen Amankonah Sekyere ’27 bring technology—and hope—to middle-schoolers in West Africa

Mixed Media

Carole MacNeil ’84 with her mom, Eleanor, in 2019.
Mixed Media
New books by Carole MacNeil ’84, Jessica C. Harris ’08, Jessica Keith ’00, Marsha de la O ’74, and the latest documentary short by César Martínez Barba ’17
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

鶹Ƶ Talk

As program director of Research Corporation for Science Advance- ment’s RCSA Fellows Initiative, Spain will support postdocs in physics, astronomy, and chemistry as they transition into their faculty careers.
To Chemistry and Beyond
After 28 years in the classroom and mentoring 74 students in her lab at 鶹Ƶ, Professor Eileen Spain pivots to prepare future generations of faculty in the physical sciences
Suke Takayuki Kubota in an undated photo.
鶹Ƶ’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...

Last Page

Professor Emeritus Eric Newhall '67, author of Always Resisting
Resistance Remembered
Professor Emeritus Eric Newhall ’67 recounts the fallout from his decision to oppose the Vietnam War in a memoir more than 50 years in the making
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