Occidental Annual Report - 2017

2016-2017

OCCID EN TA L COL L EGE

annual report

2015-2016 1

Rain falls on the Oxy campus in a 1963 photo by Joe Friezer, inset, but all is clear on this day in February 2017.

CONT ENTS 2

A Very Good Year Occidental made significant progress during the 2016-17 in realizing our goals and building institutional momentum.

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The Life of the Student From the classroom to the campaign trail to Costa Rica, Occidental undergrads embraced a world of opportunities.

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The Life of the Campus Whether it was the future of Los Angeles, sweeping changes in federal immigration policy, or a new take on an old musical, dynamic speakers and engaging artists made every day at Oxy an adventure of the mind.

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Scholarship in Action A new computer science major, an academic food conference, and an examination of U.S. government’s World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans—these were just a few of the subjects tackled in the classroom and beyond.

10 Oxy Athletics Tigers excelled on the field, on the track, on the mound, and even at training camp. Now the excitement builds as a new aquatic center breaks ground to bring Oxy student-athletes home.

12 Equity and Excellence A major overhaul of Moore Lab inches closer to reality, signaling a big leap forward in Oxy’s environmental sciences program and one of many curricular advancements made possible by alumni gifts.

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Engaging With Oxy From making new friends in Cuba to making new quilts with old friends, it was a great year to be a Tiger.

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The Oxy Fund A fundamental component in furthering the College’s mission, the Oxy Fund makes “lightbulb moments” possible for professors and students alike.

18 The Bottom Line Oxy’s core business is academic excellence and making it available to gifted students from a wide range of backgrounds—and in 2016-17, business was good.

20 Board of Trustees/Alumni Board of Governors On the cover: Justin Li, assistant professor of cognitive science and one of the architects of Oxy’s new computer science major (page 8).

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

GIFT RECEIPTS BY SOURCE Total: $21,103,241 Alumni

$ 13,083,285

Bequests

$ 1,228,288

Parents

$ 1,230,535

Faculty, Staff, and Administration

$ 38,149

Friends

$ 1,016,918

Students

$ 2,344

Trusts

$ 1,605,846

Corporations, Foundations, and Organizations

$ 2,804,467

Other

$ 93,409

Total trustee giving in 2016-2017 was $7,800,801, which includes $1,521,680 in influenced gifts through foundations and corporations.

GIFT RECEIPTS BY KIND Total: $21,103,241

1%

$237,020 Other

We are enormously grateful for your generosity, which has underwritten Occidental’s continuing success.

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15%

$3,220,361 Oxy Fund General

6%

$1,221,283 Oxy Fund Scholarships

40%

$8,336,020 Capital (plant, building, equipment, etc.)

1%

0% $13,316 Other

$168,802 Oxy Fund Athletics

1% 23%

$4,893,388 Endowment

$132,156 Annuity and Life Income

14%

$2,894,211 Departmental Support

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

A V ERY G O O D YE AR Occidental made significant progress during 2016-17 in realizing our goals and building institutional momentum.

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t’s been five years since Occidental unveiled a new strategic plan that uses our location in Los Angeles—and all the resources it has to offer—as a springboard for making Occidental one of the most distinctive liberal arts colleges in the country. The 2016-17 fiscal year marked another year of significant progress in realizing our goals and building institutional momentum that will continue to carry us forward.

A major gift from Linda and Dave Anderson ’63 made possible the launch of the Anderson Environmental Sciences Center at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology, which will take advantage of L.A.’s unique location at the nexus of ocean, mountains, and desert. Under the aegis of our Oxy Arts program, we began renovation of a College-owned building on York Boulevard to give us a base for a wide variety of community-based programming that will foster meaningful collaborations between the College and our regional arts communities. The third year of our popular 3rd LA series, hosted by Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, continued to explore the forces shaping the city’s future.

In addition to laying a foundation for our environmental sciences program, curricular innovation took the form of our new computer science program, Occidental’s newest department and major, approved by faculty in the spring.

Among the seven new tenure-track faculty we welcomed this year were two distinguished American studies scholars, Erica Ball and Courtney Baker, who have been collaborating with colleagues across campus to develop a Black Studies program.

Our pursuit of inclusive excellence was once again recognized by The New York Times, which ranked Occidental as one of the country’s top liberal arts colleges as measured by the economic mobility we deliver to our students.

Raising funds for student scholarships remains our top priority, which is why we are so grateful for a generous bequest from Mary and John Barkman ’60 to endow a need-based scholarship that gives preference to first-generation students.

Faced with sweeping changes in federal immigration policy, in March Occidental partnered with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities to bring more than 250 administrators, faculty, and students from across Southern California to campus to consider how best to respond.

Having recruited outstanding students from a wide range of backgrounds, we continue to produce impressive results. For the 11th consecutive year, Occidental was one of the country’s top producers of student Fulbright Awards.

Six Oxy students and alumni were awarded prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellowships, tying the all-time record set two years ago.

As part of our continuing effort to advance our living and learning environment, we began construction of the long-awaited Ranier De Mandel Aquatic Center and the expansion of the McKinnon Family Tennis Center.

Even with 87-year-old Taylor Pool still in place, women’s water polo was one of three nationally ranked teams last spring, including men’s track and baseball.

None of this would have been possible without your support. We are enormously grateful for your generosity, which has underwritten Occidental’s continuing success. Thank you.

Jonathan Veitch President

Susan Mallory ’76 M’78 Chair, Board of Trustees

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

THE L IFE OF THE

STU DENT

From the classroom to the campaign trail to Costa Rica, Occidental undergrads embraced a world of opportunities.

The Class of 2021 at a Glance

565 FIRST-YEAR

STUDENTS

7

%

international students

40% 4

APPLICANTS

5.7% increase over the previous and an all-time high

students from

CALIFORNIA

8%

with ties to Oxy

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4-H student participant in the National Aviary Bowl

LESSONS FROM CAMPAIGN SEMESTER In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, 14 Oxy students lived and breathed nothing but politics as participants in Campaign Semester. Scattered across nine states around the country, students spent 10 weeks in the trenches of some of the most hotly contested races up and down the ballot. While receiving college credit for their internships—still the only program of its kind in the country—they had front-row seats to the most memorable election in a generation. “These students learned a lot about themselves, they learned a lot about democracy and its flaws and strengths, and they learned a lot about America,” said Peter Dreier, the E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics, who organized the program with politics professor Regina Freer.

Among the many lessons from Campaign Semester? Grassroots politics can truly make a difference. “I did a lot of phone calls and knocking on doors,” said Mackenzie Bretz ’18, a politics major from Edmonds, Wash., who campaigned for Florida House of Representatives candidate Dan Horton.

“When you have that moment when you see someone understand what your candidate is trying to do, it makes every other moment when someone slams their door in your face worth it.”

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

William Reeves ’16, a kinesiology major from Claremont, was honored by the American Society of Hematology for his abstract about a novel blood anticoagulant that he—working with classmates and biochemistry majors Alexander Urry and Alexandra Filkins—discovered in associate professor of biochemistry Aram Nersissian’s research lab last year. Together, the team identified and characterized the novel anticoagulant protein and proposed to name it Occipodin in honor of the College. Their discovery has already elicited interest in the medical community due to its potential therapeutic and research applications—specifically, it could serve as an alternative to the more widely known Heparin and Hirudin blood-thinners. (Nersissian passed away May 26 of pancreatic cancer. He was 58.)

Under the tropical rain forest canopy of La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, Oxy students explored the ecosystem up close with professors Beth Braker, Gretchen North, and Clair Morrissey. Sitting on 3,900 acres of mostly tropical rain forest, La Selva is one of three stations in Costa Rica operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a nonprofit consortium of universities, colleges, and research institutions that purchased the property in 1968. Oxy has sent close to 150 students since the 1990s, thanks to support from the National Science Foundation and various College sources, and an anonymous foundation gift will fund Oxy’s work at La Selva for the next four years.

Three grants totaling $1.5 million will make it possible for Occidental’s Urban & Environmental Policy Institute to expand regional food justice projects that over the last two decades have led to healthier food choices in public schools and created new markets for local small farmers.

Funding from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ($900,000), U.S. Department of Agriculture ($500,000), and the California Endowment ($100,000) will expand UEPI’s efforts to engage students and community partners to bring farm-fresh food to low-income and workingpoor residents through public schools and in gentrifying neighborhoods. The grants will create 30 new internships for Occidental students over three years.

With support of the Department of Public Health’s Champions for Change Program, UEPI will expand its nationally recognized Farm to School programs through work in Los Angeles schools and preschools. “The initiative will bring much-needed nutrition education resources to parents at local public schools, provide support to build schools gardens, and guide schools toward sourcing locally grown fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias,” says UEPI project director Rosa Romero.

Oxy’s Organic Iron Chef competition returned to campus in celebration of Earth Month on April 13, with six teams doing culinary battle on the Quad. Armed with a variety of fresh organic produce (some freshly picked from Oxy’s FEAST garden), legumes, FEAST eggs, spices, oils, and one secret ingredient, teams were tasked with creating the best vegetarian/vegan starter and sauté dishes. The winning team?

Ellie Amann ’19, left, presents first place to the members of the winning team, Orange Is the New Snack, comprised of Facilities staffers Joe O’Hara, Joey Valles, and Tiffany Fung.

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

THE L IFE OF THE

CAM PUS

Whether it was the future of Los Angeles, sweeping changes in federal immigration policy, or a new take on an old musical, dynamic speakers and engaging artists made every day at Oxy an adventure of the mind.

A wide-ranging conversation with newly reelected Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and timely debates on the city’s slow growth movement and the fate of scarce open space highlighted the 2017 edition of Occidental’s Third Los Angeles Project, titled City on the Verge. Developed in conjunction with his urban and environmental policy class of the same name, 3rd LA is “really a natural and complementary extension of Oxy’s commitment to a sustained engagement with the city and region,” explains Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times and adjunct professor at Oxy.

Garcetti offered a preview of how he will approach development issues during his second term in a March 23 conversation with Hawthorne in front of a large Thorne Hall audience. (Six days before voters went to the polls, a panel discussion on “The Politics of Housing: Measure S and the Future of Growth in Los Angeles” was held March 1 at the Architecture and Design Museum.)

The debate over regional planning took center stage March 29 with Compton Mayor Aja Brown, 34, and her Long Beach counterpart Robert Garcia, 39, two of the youngest city leaders in Southern California.

The April 19 series finale focused on one of the city’s most contentious public-space issues: the future of the Silver Lake Reservoir, which is no longer a source of drinking water.

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Speaking to a packed Thorne Hall on February 1—50 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King spoke from the same podium—North Carolina NAACP president and activist Rev. Dr. William Barber said his message was not about a single election or a particular candidate, but rather the need to address some hard truths.

“What’s going on here? We have to recognize the centrality of systemic racism, America’s original sin, that still affects our social DNA,” said Barber, pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C., and convener of a statewide coalition of more than 200 progressive groups. “Progressives keep trying to find a way around race, but we can’t go around it—we have to go in it. Let’s deal with it … Let’s have a grownup conversation about racism in this country.”

While acknowledging a long history of racism and economic disparity in the United States, Barber (who was presented with an honorary degree by Occidental President Jonathan Veitch and Trustee Carl Ballton ’69) noted a proud and effective tradition of resistance and redemption as well. “There are habits of prophetic resistance, that down through the years have gotten up from rejection and produced redemption,” he said. “We are the inheritors of a proud legacy that has rejected injustice, the heirs of those who found ways to be resilient.”

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

When Russian composer Igor Stravinsky was writing his opera The Rake’s Progress in North Hollywood in the late 1940s—a retelling of a common story throughout literature, the Faustian tale of a young man who is tricked by the devil into giving up all the good things he has in life to pursue his wildest dream— Los Angeles was ripping up its red cars and expanding through the freeway.

Stravinsky’s meditation on the perils of urban “progress” that is The Rake’s Progress resonates to this day.

Since its premiere in Venice in 1951, The Rake’s Progress has become one of the mostperformed English-language operas ever—but it has seldom been produced in Los Angeles, In September 2016, the Music Departmentsponsored Pacific Opera Project staged a full production of The Rake’s Progress for two nights in Thorne Hall. In addition to a remarkable cast led by Brian Cheney and Rachele Schmiege, the Occidental College Glee Club served as the chorus for the production, while production students in Oxy’s theater department assisted behind the scenes.

POP’s production engages Oxy’s Core Curriculum theme for the 2016-2017 academic year, “Re-envisioning Metropolis: Los Angeles and the Urban Arts.”

More than 250 administrators and students from dozens of Southern California colleges and universities gathered at Occidental March 10 to consider how best to respond to sweeping changes in federal immigration policy. The daylong symposium, “Moving Forward,” was co-hosted by the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. Panels of experts, moderated by Occidental trustee Hector De La Torre ’89, Rosie Arroyo of the California Community Foundation, and Pomona College President David Oxtoby, discussed the current state of the law, pending legislation, and how best to support affected students and other campus community members.

Lucas Guttentag, a law professor at Stanford and Yale and former longtime director of the ACLU Immigrant Rights Project, addressed what it means to be a “sanctuary campus” in his keynote address. However it’s defined, support for undocumented students is essential, noted Angelica Salas ’93, CHIRLA’s executive director.

“I want to say thank you to Occidental College, my alma mater [that] invested in people who were undocumented, that got full scholarships. You don’t know how many people I know who are doing this work because this college invested in us.

It’s about supporting those students who are facing this difficult moment and making sure they succeed.”

In an unusual artistic collaboration with students and staff, Wanlass Artist in Residence Rafa Esparza marked the culmination of his residency with the unveiling of his site-specific installation HERE April 20 in four sites on the Occidental campus. At each of the four locations— the highest point on campus, a patio, a lawn, and an olive grove—Esparza erected columns of adobe brick that incorporate portraits of four members of Occidental’s dining services and facilities staffs.

The brick was made from campus dirt by the artist and Occidental students enrolled in two art classes, one taught by Esparza.

Kitchen assistant Freddie Ortiz poses next to his likeness, created by Esparza.

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

SCHOL ARS HI P IN ACT I ON A new computer science major, an academic food conference, and an examination of U.S. government’s World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans— these were just a few of the subjects tackled in the classroom and beyond.

The public debate over genetically modified food is more about the social and cultural values people invest in what they eat rather than the science of bioengineering, Occidental sociologist John Lang suggests in his recent book, What’s So Controversial About Genetically Modified Food? (Reaktion Books). It was also among the issues on the agenda of the annual meeting of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society/Association for the Study of Food and Society (AFHVS/ASFS), an international academic food conference he brought to Occidental in June. Drawing hundreds of scholars from around the globe, the conference tackled GMO alternatives such as organic farming, locally sourced food, sustainable and post-industrial agriculture, and a host of other topics including food environments, medicalization, and nutrition; food media and representation; eco/natural foods and animal welfare; agroecology, seed saving, and sustainability; and teaching food history.

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“One of the things that I love most about Oxy students is that they are committed to improving the world,” says associate professor of cognitive science Carmel Levitan. Now, through Occidental’s new computer science major, “Our students will use their liberal arts training to ask insightful questions and to come up with creative solutions to problems.”

In their proposal for the new major, Levitan and her colleagues on Occidental’s Computer Science Advisory Committee successfully argued that a liberal arts college is an ideal place for a rigorous computer science program, “as computer science is an inherently interdisciplinary field. … At its core, computer science is the systematic study of the organization and processing of information, a definition that makes clear the connection between computer science and essentially every department at Occidental.”

For example, in the natural, physical, and social sciences, computer-based methods have greatly enhanced the ability to generate, collect, and interpret large amounts of data, while simultaneously allowing it to be presented in understandable ways. In the arts and humanities, computer science has provided not only a new medium for analysis, but new ways of expression through social media, animation and interactive games.

Students immediately gravitated toward the curriculum (including a Machine Learning class taught by professor Kathryn Leonard, above), with three seniors, 11 juniors, and six sophomores declaring a computer science major at the start of the fall 2017 semester.

Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of 10 remote, military-style camps where more than 110,000 Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were incarcerated during World War II. Located some 220 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Manzanar was designated as a National Historic Site in 1992.

And after visiting the site with his wife over winter break, adjunct associate professor of history Paul Nam decided that the time “seemed appropriate” to take his class to Manzanar—which his students enthusiastically endorsed. With funding from Oxy’s L.A. Encounters program, Nam arranged a trip to the site March 25, followed by an overnight stay in the nearby Alabama Hills. “This is the ideal of what a liberal arts college class should be—to transcend the classroom and to make use of your surroundings,” says Nam, a graduate of Williams College.

Nam’s class was not the only reminder of the U.S. government’s WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. Never Again—a yearlong series that began in February—has brought speakers, film screenings, and exhibits to campus. An April 13 roundtable discussion in Choi Auditorium, organized by Nam’s students, featured a panel of Japanese Americans and Muslim Americans that included WWII internee Phil Shigekuni; Rosie Yasukochi ’18, an art major from Seattle, whose grandmother lived in the camps; Karim Sharif ’18, an English major from Los Angeles; and activists Taz Ahmed and Marwa Abdelghani.

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

OXY

AT H LE T I CS

Tigers excelled on the field, on the track, on the mound, and even at training camp. Now the excitement builds as a new aquatic center breaks ground to bring Oxy student-athletes home.

No one ever said it takes a village to build a new aquatic center, but it certainly helps. In 1995, educator-turned-contractor Ranier De Mandel ’25 pledged a $2-million estate gift toward a new pool, raising hopes that the project—a priority of the College’s capital campaign in the 1990s—would soon be realized.

More than 20 years later, it took a push from trustee Jennifer Townsend Crosthwaite ’84, a two-time All-American volleyball player, and husband Barry Crosthwaite ’80, a four-year All-Conference water polo player, to organize a group of friends and former teammates (including Bill Davis ’80, John Cala ’83, Tim Lee ’79, and former assistant coach and All-Conference water polo player Brian Murphy ’74) to bring the pool project to fruition.

“We said we’ve been waiting too long—this has got to happen,” Jennifer recalls.

“I was the first child to go to college in a family of blue-collar immigrants,”

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The Life Aquatic: Barry Crosthwaite ’80 P’20 and Jennifer Townsend Crosthwaite ’84 P’20, center, are flanked by director of athletics Jaime Hoffman and President Jonathan Veitch at a ceremonial groundbreaking April 22. “Oxy aquatics taught me about leadership, teamwork, discipline, and sacrifice, and introduced me to my best friends,” Barry says.

adds Barry, who with Jennifer has pledged $1.5 million toward the pool. “My Oxy education taught me how to learn and reinvent myself when necessary— both keys to my success in different professions.”

Scores of donors have stepped forward to help fund the $17.5-million De Mandel Aquatic Center, whose centerpiece, Townsend Crosthwaite Pool, will have eight competitive lanes and 15 practice lanes for swimmers; a 34-meter, all-deep-water venue for water polo; and a 13.3-foot-deep diving well with two 1-meter and two 3-meter diving boards. It also will include an attached recreational pool for general use and a 316-seat grandstand.

A new pool comparable to those at other SCIAC schools will improve Oxy’s ability to recruit. And with the return of home games and meets, and the crowds that come with them, “It will make us more competitive in every way,” says water polo head coach Jack Stabenfeldt ’14, an All-SCIAC selection and two-time All-American as a Tiger.

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

A year after helping Oxy baseball to its first SCIAC title in 34 years, Second Team All-SCIAC pitcher Nolan Watson ’17 threw the 15th varsity no-hitter in school history in a seven-inning, mercy-rule 16-0 win over CMS at Anderson Field on March 24. As the game progressed, “I tried not to let it creep in and distract me,” Watson said afterward. “The feeling was indescribable, a relief and a weight off my shoulders. It’s just an honor to be a part of Occidental history.”

All-SCIAC sprinter Hugh Pegan ’18 of Ukiah picked up three of Tiger track’s nine All- American awards at the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio, in May. The mathematics major’s performance helped Oxy score in the 200 meters, the 4x100 meter relay, and the 4x400 meter relay and finish 20th overall—the best finish in the country for any SCIAC men’s team.

Delaney Nolin ’17 ran a record-setting time of 3:21.24 in the U.S. Paralympic T38 800-meter at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on April 8.

It was the first 800m run by Nolin, a biology major from Cumberland, Maine, whose cerebral palsy significantly impacts her gait. “I can’t wait to run it again,” says Nolin, who qualified for the U.S. Paralympic Trials last spring in the 400m.

For the second year in a row, head track coach Rob Bartlett was named SCIAC Men’s Coach of the Year. Assistant coach and sprints specialist Tyler Yamaguchi was named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year.

After leading Oxy to its best conference season (11-17) in program history, softball coach Ali Haehnel and assistant coaches Raven Freret and Tod Shimamoto were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Tigers nearly doubled their previous best win total of six.

Quarterback Bryan Scott ’17 of Rolling Hills, who last fall became SCIAC’s alltime leader in passing yards, completions, and total offense, ended the year with an invitation to try out at the Los Angeles Rams rookie camp in May.

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

EQU I T Y E XCEL LENCE AND

A major overhaul of Moore Lab inches closer to reality, signaling a big leap forward in the environmental sciences at Oxy and one of many curricular advancements made possible by alumni gifts.

In the seven decades since Occidental’s Robert T. Moore Laboratory of Zoology opened, the field of genomics has transformed the College’s natural history collections into an extraordinary source of potential new insights into biodiversity and environmental change. In recognition of this opportunity, Linda and David Anderson ’63 made a generous lead gift to fund a series of building renovations and create the cutting-edge Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology.

The project’s new and updated research and instructional laboratories will make it possible for Occidental faculty and students to expand their ongoing efforts to unlock the genetic and demographic data contained in the Moore Collection of Birds—with almost 65,000 specimens, the world’s largest collection of Mexican birds—and the Cosman Shell Collection, which has more than 117,000 specimens of gastropods and bivalves from all around the world.

Other gifts from such institutions as the Fletcher Jones Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the W.M. Keck Foundation, and individuals including Linda P. Taylor ‘63 and Leighton R. Taylor ‘62 and famed

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Architect’s rendering of the new Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences.

ichthyologist John McCosker ’67 will provide a new state-of-the-art genomics center, field and lab equipment, and enhanced exhibition space.

A new custom-built research/dive boat will play a key role in integrating the natural history collections with the College’s regional field biology programs—another important source of data. The College’s Vantuna Research Group, which has been monitoring and researching the marine environment of Southern and Baja California since 1966, has produced both the longest continual time series studies of rocky reefs in the world and the largest spatial scale studies of reefs in the Southern California bight.

All this will serve as the foundation for the development of a marquee program in environmental science and expand the opportunities for innovative, graduate school-level research and publication available to Occidental students. The broader scientific community will benefit as well, given the College’s full commitment to public access. The Moore Collection database is searchable online, and work is underway to fully catalog the Cosman Collection (believed to hold a number of previously unclassified species).

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

As a political science major at Oxy, Lyman G. Chaffee ’60 remembers History of Civilization fondly and thinks it was the best class he ever took. He subsequently developed a fondness for Latin America, which led him to get his master’s and Ph.D. in Latin American studies and even study at the University of Madrid for a while. Over the years, Chaffee lived frugally, driving oldermodel cars while traveling the globe. As a professor of political science at Cal State Dominguez Hills, he took his students on many study-abroad experiences. In that spirit, Chaffee established the Dr. Lyman G. Chaffee Global Opportunities Endowed Fund to provide financial aid for study-abroad programs in perpetuity for students like economics major Hazel Hering ’18, above, who spent a semester in India as a junior.

In the decades following his retirement, President Emeritus Richard C. Gilman was a frequent presence in the College archives, annotating photos and reviewing documents as he worked on his memoir. His interest in preserving the history of Occidental (and the archives’ extensive holdings) prompted him to make a planned gift in support of its operations. The Richard C. Gilman Special Collections and College Archives Endowment Fund will support personnel, conservation, exhibition, and publication expenses so that future generations of students and scholars can enjoy access to the past. (Gilman died in January 2016.)

People don’t come much better than Bill Eldred ’50. A member of the Greatest Generation, Eldred served a two-year stint in the Navy during World War II and went to Oxy on the G.I. Bill. He met his wife, Joan Hemborg ’52, at Oxy, and lived in the on-campus veterans’ housing (the “Boondocks”) until graduation. The couple lived in Northern California and Covina before settling in Glendora in 1962, where they raised their three children. Eldred started his career as a salesman at the family-owned Fowler Brothers’ Bookstore in downtown L.A., became a Fuller Brush salesman, and then co-founded Plato Products, a metal plating company and manufacturer of soldering tools and equipment.

Eldred was a member of Glenkirk Presbyterian Church for 50 years and served as a deacon and elder and on many committees. He also was active with Oxy and served on the Alumni Association Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees in the 1970s and 1980s. A lifelong supporter of Oxy, Eldred made a gift in support of Oxy’s Values & Vocations initiative in 2007 (a series of courses and projects tied to religious leadership, meaningful work, and contributions to the common good) through a charitable remainder trust. He died April 29, 2017, at his home in Glendora.

Public school teacher, firstgeneration student, and Glee Club member John Barkman ’60 left Oxy an estate gift of $800,000 to permanently endow a scholarship that will give preference to firstgeneration students. “My Oxy experience drastically impacted me and the way I live and view life today,” he wrote in 1999. (Barkman, shown with wife Mary, died in July 2016.)

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

EN GAG I N G WITH OXY From making new friends in Cuba to making new quilts with old friends, it was a great year to be a Tiger.

I extend greetings on behalf of the Alumni Association Board of Governors.

We are proud to say that Oxy is prospering in many ways, not the least of which is the increasing engagement of our alumni. Whether connecting at regional gatherings, participating in affinity groups, supporting student enrollment and career development, enjoying the loyal reporting from class secretaries, or supporting the College financially, alumni are engaging with the College as never before.

As you peruse these photos from some of the great alumni and parent events of the past year, I invite you to join at us at an upcoming regional, affinity, or travel opportunity in 2018. Keep an eye on your inbox and make sure to check the monthly @Oxy e-newsletter for updated information.

You can also take advantage of the Occidental College Switchboard (oxy.switchboardhq.com), where alumni and students can connect around common interests. On behalf of the Board, I encourage you to communicate with us directly or through the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement so that we can continue to contribute to Occidental’s success.

Charles McClintock ’68 President, Alumni Association Board of Governors

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ABOVE: Oxy recognized its 2017 Alumni Seal honorees during Alumni Reunion Weekend in June. Back row (l-r): BOG president Charles McClintock ’68, Kylie Schuyler ’82 (service to the community), Sally Ann Parsons ’62 (alumna of the year), Alumni and Parent Engagement director Monika Moore, and President Jonathan Veitch.

Front row: Mark Garcia ’87 (service to the College), Sara El-Amine ’07 (Erica J. Murray ’01 Young Alumni Award), Esau Berumen ’97 (professional achievement), and Judy Lam ’87 (service to the College).

BELOW: Tigers, by birth and affiliation, celebrate during Alumni Reunion Weekend 2017.

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1. The Occidental Glee Club sings a medley of Oxy fight songs to kick off the Athletics Hall of Fame dinner. 2. Tigers engage in a friendly game of foosball during Alumni Reunion Weekend 2017. 3. These Oxy parents strike a portrait pose at the Tiger Tailgate and Oswald’s Carnival. 4. The Occidental Women’s Club held its Boutique during Homecoming. Back row (l-r): Nancy Smith (aunt of a ’95 grad), Kathie Hager P’03, Enid Busser ’58, Clara Gresham ’53 P’85, ’86, and Jane Pinkerton P’85, ’88. Front row: Ardis Carroll P’08, Martha Hidalgo ’81 P’12, Leni Richardson ’56 P’85, and Loreen Haring P’87. 5. Tiger Travelers visit with American embassy staffer Jessie Huaracayo ’02 in Havana during the 2016 Cultural Cuba tour. Back row (l-r): Tour host George Novinger Jr. ’78 M’79 P’12, Steven Braithwait ’69, Kathryn (Arnold) Blitz ’89, Anne (Arnold) Welsh ’87, Maxwell Calbick ’77, Jesse Huaracayo ’02, Rosalind (Nelson) Babener ’72, and Jeffrey Babener ’70. Front row: Nancy (Corcoran) Gordon ’68 M’70, Gerald Sun ’65, Maribel (Rios) Louie ’97, Dana Woodward Jr. ’70, and Andrew Louie ’95. 6. Oswald leads an impromptu pep rally during Homecoming.

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

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OXY FU ND

Biochemistry major Matt Schmidt ’18 presents his summer research project in August 2017—one of dozens of presentations made

by Occidental students during the College’s annual Summer Research Program Conference. The Oxy Fund helps support signature programs such as the Summer Research Program, where over 100 students participate in on-campus summer research and present the results of their work during the daylong campus conference.

A fundamental component in furthering the College’s mission, the Oxy Fund makes “lightbulb moments” possible for professors and students alike.

Some say that the Oxy Fund keeps the lights on.

It does, quite literally. But the Oxy Fund does much more than that. When a professor has an idea for a new student-led research project—a “lightbulb moment,” if you will—the Oxy Fund can supply the funds to make this idea a reality. When a student organization brainstorms an event promoting diversity and inclusion, the Oxy Fund provides the means to bring that event to life. And when a student secures an unpaid summer internship, the Oxy Fund ensures that they will not have to choose between professional opportunity and basic living expenses.

We often use the term “unrestricted support” to characterize gifts to the Oxy Fund because they support almost every aspect of campus in any given academic year. Scholarships, athletics, academic programs, research opportunities, campus beautification, and internships are possible because of the collective contributions

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from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends who believe in an Oxy education. And the benefits are immediate.

Your gift to the Oxy Fund is crucial in furthering Occidental’s mission of preparing students for leadership in an increasingly complex world. From the lightbulbs that illuminate textbooks and notes of students studying for finals, to the lightbulb ideas that spring from curious minds, your generosity makes this possible.

In 2016-17, the Oxy Fund raised $4.61 million in gifts from almost 4,900 alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends. We thank the Oxy community for their ongoing support!

WH ER E YOU R OXY F U N D D OL L A RS G O

26%

Scholarship

$4.61

MILLION RAISED

70%

4%

Athletics

Unrestricted general support

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

With the support of our volunteer committees, the Oxy Fund builds meaningful relationships with alumni, parents, and students that result in increased support for the College.

The Leadership Giving committee includes philanthropic leaders in the Oxy community who belong to the William Stewart Young Society.

Members work to strengthen ties between Oxy and its alumni supporters and inspire a select group of alumni leaders to make a gift to Oxy each year.

The Rising Philanthropists committee includes graduates of the last 10 years who feel strongly about supporting the Oxy Fund over the long term.

“There’s nothing I’d rather invest in than my child’s education,” says Jil Pollock P’20, who with husband John serves on the Parents Council of the Oxy Fund. “I give to Oxy—and I try to convince others to give to Oxy—because, while my kid is there, I believe it is the most deserving organization in the world.” (Clockwise from right, Jil Pollock P’20, sons Clay ’20 and Stewart, and John.)

The Parents Council includes parents from across the country who serve as leaders within the Oxy community. Members are critical to building relationships between Oxy parents and the College and in conducting outreach to fellow parents on how Oxy Fund gifts impact the current student experience.

Reunion Giving committees are assembled by alumni every five years to encourage their peers to contribute to Oxy in honor of their milestone reunion. The committee is an opportunity to reconnect with classmates while supporting the programs that continue to make the Oxy experience unique.

Senior Class Gift committee members help instill a culture of giving back to Oxy when alumni are still students on campus. The Senior Class Gift committee encourages participation-based recurring giving to ensure that students’ most meaningful Oxy experiences continue to be available for future Tigers.

Dialing from the TeleFund room located in the basement of Thorne Hall, student callers raised $434,617 for the Oxy Fund.

“ Oxy is such a special place and it prepared me for all that I do.”

Babette Benken ’87 helped raise $196,405 from her classmates for their 30th reunion in June 2017. “It’s a pleasure to give my time to provide updates to my classmates and join together to support others in affording the Oxy experience.”

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2016-2017 ANNUAL REPORT

THE

BOT TO M LIN E

Oxy’s core business is academic excellence and making it available to gifted students from a wide range of backgrounds—and in 2016-17, business was good.

The 2016-17 fiscal year was a good one for Occidental. As of June 30, 2017, the College’s endowment stood at $413.4 million, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. That positive result was fueled by resurgent financial markets and a 15 percent average return on the endowment for the fiscal year, a dramatic improvement over last year’s numbers and significantly better than the 12.7 percent benchmark return.

While all college and university endowments benefitted from rising markets, Occidental’s 2016-17 results are part of a long-term trend. Over the last 10 years, the Occidental endowment has earned an average annualized compound return of 4.7 percent, as compared to a benchmark return of 4.3 percent. The results are even more impressive over the past 15 years, with the endowment earning a 7.6 percent return, in contrast to a benchmark rate of 6.7 percent.

Overall, Occidental’s fiscal management continues to keep the College well in the black. In June 2017, Moody’s Investors Service reported that about one-third of small private colleges rated by Moody’s ran operating deficits in the 2015-16 fiscal year, up 20 percent in three years. In contrast, Occidental— ranked by Moody’s at Aa3, its fourth-highest rating—has produced eight consecutive balanced operating budgets. Once again, Forbes’ latest Top Colleges Financial Grade list of private colleges gave Oxy an A, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Financial Responsibility Composite Score for Oxy remains a 3.0—the highest possible rating.

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As gratifying as these results are, our greatest satisfaction comes from being able to direct additional resources toward Occidental’s strategic priorities.

Our core business, if you will, is academic excellence and making it available to gifted students from a wide range of backgrounds.

The performance of the endowment has given Wendy Sternberg, whose appointment as Occidental’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College was announced in January, a solid foundation on which to work with faculty to continue to build on that excellence.

At the same time, our fundraising success has made it possible to move forward with such important initiatives as the Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology, construction of the long-awaited Ranier De Mandel Aquatic Center and Townsend Crosthwaite Pool, and the expansion of the McKinnon Family Tennis Center and Robinson Pavilion. The convergence of endowment performance and fundraising success has given Occidental a powerful sense of institutional momentum.

Amos Himmelstein Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Chris Varelas ’85 Chair, Investment Committee Board of Trustees

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

Endowment Performance

Operating Revenue

Auxiliary Services (bookstore, conference, filming, catering)

3.1%

Average annual compound returns through June 30, 2017

1 year

15% 12.7%

3 year

2.9% 4.2%

5 year

7.5% 8.1%

10 year

4.7% 4.3%

15 year

7.6%

Other

7%

Private Gifts, Grants, and Contracts

16.6%

6.7%

* Invested 70% in global stocks (as measured by the MSCI All Country World Index) and 30% invested in U.S. bonds (as measured by the BC Aggregate Bond Index).

2.5%

Federal and State Grants and Contracts

Occidental Endowment 70/30 Benchmark*

2.3%

68.4%

Endowment Support Designated for Operations

Enrollmentbased Revenues

Operating Expenditures

The convergence of endowment performance and fundraising success has given Occidental a powerful sense of institutional momentum.

2.5%

35.8%

Research

Instruction

4%

Public Service

6.5%

19.5%

Advancement

Auxiliary Services

12.6%

Student Services

10.4%

Institutional Support

8.6%

Academic Support

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2017-2018 Patricia Lebre Alireza ’94 Research Scientist University of Cambridge David H. Anderson ’63 Attorney at Law (retired) Carl A. Ballton ’69 Senior Vice President (retired) Union Bank David W. Berkus ’62 P’95 President Berkus Technology Ventures LLC

Hector De La Torre ’89 P’20 Executive Director Transamerica Center for Health Studies Susan DiMarco P’17 Dentist (retired) Gloria Duffy ’75 President & CEO Commonwealth Club of California Louise D. Edgerton ’67 M’69 Secretary, Treasurer & Director Edgerton Foundation

Lisa H. Link P’18 Attorney at Law (retired) Gordon MacInnes ’63 President New Jersey Policy Perspective Susan H. Mallory ’76 M’78 Chair Practice Executive, Banking/ Wealth Management Northern Trust Greta J. Mandell ’72 P’92 Psychiatrist

Catherine Young Selleck ’55 President & CEO (retired) Metaphor Inc. Soroosh Shambayati ’86 CEO Guggenheim Investment Bankers S.A. Leslie Trim P’14 Co-founder & COO (retired) Polaris Communications Christopher Varelas ’85 Partner Riverwood Capital

John R. Farmer P’98 Senior Director (retired) Goldman Sachs

Eric B. Moore ’83 Principal Avison Young

Alan Freeman ’66 M’67 P’89, ’91 Professor Emeritus Occidental College

Steven J. Olson Partner O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Jonathan Veitch President Occidental College

John G. Branca ’72 Partner Ziffren Brittenham LLP

Ronald R. Hahn ’66 Chairman Lotus Separations LLC

Vincent Padua ’74 General Counsel Hassen Development Corp.

Charles McClintock ’68 Professor & Dean Emeritus Fielding Graduate University

Eileen Anisgarten Brown ’73 President Brown’s Building Blocks

Maurine Halperin P’16 Director of Communications Town School for Boys

John B. Power ’58 Partner (retired) O’Melveny & Myers

David Burcham ’73 Attorney at Law & Educator (retired)

Fred J. Hameetman ’62 Chairman American Group

Steven R. Robinson ’77 President SRR Trading LLC

Coit Blacker ’71 Professor & Senior Fellow Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University

Christopher C. Calkins ’67 President Carltas Co. Anne Cannon ’74 Independent Financial Adviser & CPA Dennis Collins P’94 President & CEO (retired) The James Irvine Foundation Jennifer Crosthwaite ’84 P’20 National Bank Examiner Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

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E X OFFICIO

PRESIDENTS EMERITI Theodore R. Mitchell Robert A. Skotheim John Brooks Slaughter

CHAIRS EMERITI

Octavio V. Herrera ’98 Co-founder Lucid Sight Inc.

Stephen D. Rountree ’71 Managing Director Center Theatre Group

Gary Kaplan ‘71 Partner Greenberg Glusker

Rick Rugani ’75 Independent Financial Adviser (retired)

Irwin Field Chairman & CEO Liberty Vegetable Oil Co.

Gil Kemp P’04 Founder & President (retired) Home Decorators Collection

Janette Sadik-Khan ’82 Principal (Transportation) Bloomberg Associates

Naomi Kurata Managing Partner AI Management Co.

Reid Samuelson ’72 Partner Samuelson Partners

Stephen F. Hinchliffe Jr. ’55 P’88 Chairman & CEO The Leisure Group Inc.

Virginia Goss Cushman ’55 Civic Volunteer

Peter W. Mullin Chairman & CEO Mullin Consulting Inc.

TRUSTEES EMERITI Ronald J. Arnault President RJA Consultants Alice Walker Duff ’69 Managing Director (retired) Bread of the World J. Eugene Grigsby III ’66 President & CEO (retired) National Health Foundation Allen W. Mathies Jr. President Emeritus Huntington Memorial Hospital Ian McKinnon ’89 Founding Partner Sandia Holdings LLC Kristine A. Morris ’76 Founding Partner (of counsel) Morris & Berger Catherine A. Pepe ’64 Partner (retired) O’Melveny & Myers David H. Roberts ’67 (retired) Citibank/Citigroup Jack D. Samuelson ’46 P’72, ’77 President Samuelson Partners Rosemary B. Simmons ’53 Former Councilmember (retired) City of San Marino S. Tod White ’59 Founder & CEO (retired) Blessing/White Inc. Charles E. Young Chancellor Emeritus UCLA

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2017-201 8 Richard Askew ’98 Lois G. Carwile ’45 David J. Estrada ’05 vice president Bradley C. Fauvre ’87 president-elect Benjamin L. Finser ’13 vice president Vincent M. Gallo ’79 Jessica M. Gelzer ’11 Elsa S. Greno ’01 Jack D. Hodges ’61 P’88 Yelka W. Kamara ’12 Carolyn (Coulter) Liesy ’64 P’92 Maribel (Rios) Louie ’97 Charles McClintock ’68 president Wendell “Mort” Mortimer ’58 Ara J. Najarian ’82 P’16 Tuan Q. Ngo ’07 member-at-large Tayler K. Renshaw ’14 vice president Andrew E. Rubin ’71 Lisa (Quillen) Tegethoff ’99 Eric H. Warren ’69 Joan B. Wickham ’07 Robert B. Wicklund ’05

Editor Dick Anderson Director of Communications Jim Tranquada Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications Marty Sharkey Director of Campaign Communications Michelle McMichael Photography Marc Campos* Design Meghan Leavitt Printing DLS Group Published by Occidental College Office of Communications F-36 1600 Campus Road Los Angeles CA 90041-3314 Printed on recycled paper * Additional photography by Kirby Lee, Bob Palermini, and Eddie Ravulcaba (page 11), Kevin Burke (page 13), and Dennis Davis (pages 16-17)

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