Editing Occidental College

{{Short description|Private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox university
| name = Occidental College
| image = Occidental College Seal.svg
| image_upright =  .6
| motto = ''Occidens Proximus Orienti'' ([[Latin]])
| mottoeng = The West is nearest the East
| established = {{start date and age|April 20, 1887}}
| closed =
| type = [[Private college|Private]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]]
| religious_affiliation = Non-sectarian (historically [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian]])
| endowment = $575.8 million (2021)<ref>As of February 19, 2022. {{cite report |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/research/2021-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--REVISED-February-18-2022.ashx?la=en&hash=FA57411CC4244B7D49C25377165FEC42FFBDEB56|title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2021 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY20 to FY21 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and [[TIAA]] |date=February 19, 2022 |access-date=February 20, 2022}}</ref>
| chancellor =
| president = Tom Stritikus
| provost =
| faculty = 276 (fall 2023)<ref name="nces.ed.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Occidental+College&s=all&id=120254|title = College Navigator - Occidental College}}</ref>
| administrative_staff =
| students = 1,854 (fall 2023)<ref name="nces.ed.gov" />
| city = [[Los Angeles]], California
| country = U.S.
| campus = Urban, {{convert|120|acre|ha}}
| former_names =
| free_label =
| free =
|athletics_affiliations = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] – [[Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|SCIAC]]
| colors = {{color box|#FF6600}}{{color box|black}} Orange and black
|sports_nickname = [[Occidental Tigers|Tigers]]
| mascot = [[Tiger|Oswald the Tiger]]
| website = {{url|https://www.oxy.edu/| oxy.edu}}
| logo = Occidental College logo.svg
| logo_size  = 200
| footnotes =
| coordinates = {{coord|34.1271|-118.2109|type:edu|display=inline,title}}
| academic_affiliations = {{ubl|[[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities|NAICU]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp |title=NAICU - Membership |website=Naicu.edu |access-date=July 15, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109231238/http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp |archive-date=November 9, 2015 }}</ref>|[[Annapolis Group]]|[[Oberlin Group]]|[[Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges|CLAC]]|[[Project Pericles]]}}
}}

'''Occidental College''' (informally '''Oxy''') is a [[Private college|private]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]] in [[Los Angeles]], California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian Church]], it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast of the United States.

Occidental's current {{cvt|120|acre|adj=on}} campus is located in [[Eagle Rock, Los Angeles]], and was designed by architect [[Myron Hunt]]. Due to its proximity to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] and its architecture, the campus is frequently used as a filming location for film and television productions. Occidental is a founding member of the [[Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] and its 20 varsity sports teams compete in [[NCAA Division III]]. The college's curriculum emphasizes diversity, global literacy, and civic engagement.

Notable alumni include President [[Barack Obama]], a [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] member, several members of the [[United States Congress]], CEOs of notable companies, 10 [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]], and recipients of the [[Pulitzer Prize]], [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]], [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award]], [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]] and [[Emmy Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hicks |first=Bob |title=Corey Brunish, beyond Broadway {{!}} Oregon ArtsWatch |url=https://www.orartswatch.org/corey-brunish-beyond-broadway/ |access-date=August 4, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2014 |title=Bullish Over Broadway |url=https://www.oxy.edu/magazine/issues/summer-2014/bullish-over-broadway |access-date=August 4, 2024 |website=www.oxy.edu |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:St Vincent’s Pershing Square.jpeg|thumb|left|Pershing Square campus, ca. 1896]]
Occidental College was founded on April 20, 1887, by a group of [[Presbyterian]] clergy, missionaries, and laymen, including [[James George Bell]], [[Lyman Stewart]], and [[Thomas R. Bard|Thomas Bard]]. The cornerstone of the school's first building was laid in September 1887 in the [[Boyle Heights]] now [[East Los Angeles, California|East Los Angeles]] neighborhood of Los Angeles.<ref name = latimes87>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-20-vw-1118-story.html | title=Occidental College: A Lively Center of Learning Turns 100 | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date=April 20, 1987 | access-date=March 29, 2015 | last=Murphy |first=William S. }}</ref> The college's first term began a year later with 27 male and 13 female students, and tuition of $50 a year.<ref name = rolle>{{cite news | title = Occidental College: A Centennial History | year = 1986 | last= Rolle |first=Andrew}}</ref>

In 1896, the Boyle Heights building was destroyed by fire. The college temporarily relocated to the old [[Loyola Marymount University#St. Vincent's College|St. Vincent's College]] campus on Hill Street before a new site was selected in [[Highland Park, Los Angeles|Highland Park]] in 1898.<ref name = latimes87/> Eventually, the college erected three main buildings: the Academy Building, the Stimson Library, and the Hall of Arts and Letters (the Hall still stands today, converted to apartments).<ref name = kcet>{{cite web | url = http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/history/occidental-college-the-campus-and-the-community.html | title = Occidental College in Highland Park: The Campus and the Community | publisher = KCET Los Angeles | date = April 18, 2012 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Lin |first=Jan}}</ref> The Highland Park site was also bisected by the tracks of the Santa Fe Railroad,<ref name = kcet/> and was the site of two presidential visits, first by [[William Howard Taft]] in 1909 and subsequently by [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in 1911.<ref name = kcet/>

In 1909, the [[Pomona College]] Board of Trustees suggested a merger between Pomona and Occidental, but the proposal came to nothing.<ref>{{cite news | title = Pomona Trustees Meet | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = May 26, 1909}}</ref> The following year, the college severed formal ties with the Presbyterian Church and became a non-sectarian, non-denominational institution.<ref name = latimes87/><ref>{{cite news | title = New Charter for College | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = April 15, 1910}}</ref> The small size of the {{Convert|15|acre|adj=on}} campus and the disruption caused by frequent freight trains pushed the college's trustees to find a new location.<ref name = kcet/>

===1900s===
[[File:OccidentalColl-1904.jpg|thumb|left|Highland Park campus, 1904]] 
In 1912, the school began construction of a new campus located in Los Angeles' [[Eagle Rock, Los Angeles|Eagle Rock]] neighborhood. The Eagle Rock campus was designed by noted California architect [[Myron Hunt]], also known as the planner of the [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech) campus and as designer of the [[Huntington Library and Art Gallery]] and the [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]]. That same year, Occidental President [[John Willis Baer]] announced the trustees' decision to convert Occidental College into an all-men's institution. The plans were met with widespread backlash from students and faculty who protested the change. The community outcry garnered national headlines and the board later dropped the proposal.<ref>{{cite news | title = Ask Trustees to Reverse | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = April 11, 1912}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Tells Students Way of Change | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = May 1, 1912}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.vs3-12.historypin.appspot.com/attach/uid31471/map/#!/geo:34.105168,-118.202036/zoom:15/dialog:87139/tab:details/ | title = Oxy remains co-ed | publisher = Occidental College Archives | access-date = March 30, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402050022/http://www.vs3-12.historypin.appspot.com/attach/uid31471/map#!/geo:34.105168,-118.202036/zoom:15/dialog:87139/tab:details/ | archive-date = April 2, 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Two weeks after [[Booker T. Washington]] came to visit Occidental, on March 27, 1914, Swan, Fowler, and Johnson Halls were dedicated at its new Eagle Rock campus. Patterson Field, today one of the oldest collegiate sports stadiums in Los Angeles, was opened in 1916.<ref>{{cite news | title = Honored Name for Athletic Field | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = February 24, 1916}}</ref> In April 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I, the college formed a Students Army Training Corps to aid the war effort.<ref name = rolle/>

[[File:Occidental College in the 1920's.jpg|thumb|Occidental College in the 1920s]]
Under Occidental President [[Remsen Bird]], the school opened a series of new Hunt-designed buildings, including Clapp Library (1924), Hillside Theatre and a women's dormitory (Orr Hall) in 1925, Alumni Gymnasium (1926), the Freeman Student Union (1928) and a music and speech building (1929).<ref>{{cite news | title = Myron Hunt at Occidental College | publisher = Tailwater Press | date = 2012 | last= Winter |first=Robert}}</ref> The Delta of California chapter of [[Phi Beta Kappa]] was established at Occidental in 1926, at a time when the only other chapters in California were at [[Stanford University|Stanford]], [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], and [[Pomona College|Pomona]].<ref name = rolle/>

English novelist [[Aldous Huxley]], who had spoken at Occidental's convocation ceremony in the then-new Thorne Hall in 1938, lampooned President Remsen Bird as Dr. Herbert Mulge of Tarzana College in his 1939 novel, ''[[After Many a Summer Dies the Swan]]''. Huxley was never again invited back to campus.<ref>{{cite book | title = Huxley in Hollywood | location= New York | publisher=Harper & Row | date = 1989 | last = Dunaway |first=David King |isbn=9780385415910}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], many students left Occidental to fight in the war. In July 1943, the U.S. Navy established a Navy [[V-12 Navy College Training Program|V-12]]<ref name="occidentalv-12">{{cite web |url=http://alumni.oxy.edu/s/956/index.aspx?pgid=410&gid=1 |title=Occidental College - Oxy Trivia |access-date=September 28, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519135727/http://alumni.oxy.edu/s/956/index.aspx?pgid=410&gid=1 |archive-date=May 19, 2012 }}</ref> officer training program on campus that produced hundreds of graduates before it was disbanded in 1945 at the end of the war. Occidental President Remsen Bird worked behind the scenes to help Oxy students of Japanese descent continue their education despite mandatory evacuation orders; his letters are included in the Japanese American Relocation Collection in Clapp Library.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://callimachus.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p4004coll1 | title =  Occidental College Japanese American Relocation | publisher = Occidental College Library Digital Archives | access-date = March 30, 2015}}</ref>

After having its first [[Rhodes Scholar]], Clarence Spaulding, named in 1908, Oxy seniors John Paden and Aaron Segal were awarded Rhodes Scholarships in 1958, the only time Occidental has produced two Rhodes Scholars in a single year.<ref>{{cite news | title = Two Rhodes Scholars Named at Occidental | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = December 21, 1958}}</ref> Paden and Segal were among the ten Occidental students who participated in Crossroads Africa that year, a forerunner to the [[Peace Corps]] that later became a national program.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://operationcrossroadsafrica.org/index.php#div[content]=1202 | title = What is Operation Crossroads Africa? | publisher = Operation Crossroads Africa | access-date = March 30, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402190138/http://operationcrossroadsafrica.org/index.php#div | archive-date = April 2, 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 1969, 42 students were suspended for peacefully protesting military recruiting on campus. One year later, faculty voted to suspend classes in the wake of the [[Kent State shootings]] and America's invasion of Cambodia. Subsequently, Oxy students wrote 7,000 letters to Washington D.C., protesting U.S. involvement in the war in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://goarticles.com/article/Occidental-College-and-Its-Relationship-to-Eagle-Rock-and-Highland-Park-CA/9672790/ | title = Occidental College and Its Relationship to Eagle Rock and Highland Park, CA  | publisher = Go Articles | date = November 9, 2014 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Fender |first=Nicholas}}</ref> Occidental launched one of the country's first [[Upward Bound]] programs in 1966, aimed at increasing the number of low-income, underrepresented high school students who become the first in their family to go to college.<ref>{{cite web |title=Upward Bound / About Us |url=https://www.oxy.edu/about-oxy/community-engagement/upward-bound/about-us |website=Occidental College |access-date=January 17, 2024}}</ref>

Also in 1969, the school opened its first two co-ed [[Dormitory|dormitories]], and two more followed a year later. In 1988, [[John Brooks Slaughter]], formerly Chancellor of the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Amy|date=April 2, 1988|title=Slaughter to Quit U-MD. Post|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/04/02/slaughter-to-quit-u-md-post/590a8dcf-6283-492d-bd0d-401d1091732a/|access-date=July 14, 2020|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> became Occidental's first black president.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography of Dr. John B. Slaughter, Director of the NSF from December 1980 - October 1982|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/bios/jbslaughter.jsp|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=National Science Foundation}}</ref> Building on faculty and student advocacy and a series of grants the college had received previously to increase the diversity of the Occidental student body, Slaughter led the process of creating a new mission statement that is still used today.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.oxy.edu/our-story/mission | title = Mission | publisher = Occidental College | access-date = March 30, 2015}}</ref> Also, Slaughter led the college's community outreach expansion with the creation of the Center for Volunteerism and Community Service, the predecessor for the current Center for Community Based Learning.<ref name=wallace>{{cite journal| title=Occidental College's Noble Experiment in Diversity| first=Amy |last=Wallace| date=Spring 1996| journal=The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education| publisher=The JBHE Foundation | volume=11| issue=11 | pages=114–117| doi=10.2307/2963331 | jstor=2963331 }}</ref>

In November 1990, the college rededicated the campus' main chapel as the Herrick Memorial Chapel and Interfaith Center. The school also took down the crosses in the chapel in an attempt to "broaden Occidental's appeal among non-Christian students."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-15-gl-6363-story.html | title = Occidental Removes Cross From Chapel | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = November 15, 1990 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Grange |first=Lori}}</ref>

===2000s===
In July 2006, [[Susan Westerberg Prager]] became Occidental's first female president. She left her position in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Brief History of Occidental College |url=http://www.oxy.edu/x3684.xml | access-date = August 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819041020/http://www.oxy.edu/x3684.xml | archive-date=August 19, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Robert Skotheim]] served as interim president. In July 2009, [[Jonathan Veitch]] became Occidental's 15th president, and the first native [[Angeleno]] president.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://patch.com/california/eaglerock/an-interview-with-occidental-college-president-jonathan-veitch | title = An Interview With Occidental College President Jonathan Veitch | publisher = Eagle Rock Patch | date = February 15, 2011 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Tokita |first=Mary}}</ref>

The college received national scrutiny in 2014 when the [[U.S. Department of Education]] [[Occidental College sexual assault controversy|named Occidental College as one of 55 higher education institutions under investigation]] "for possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual violence and harassment."<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Department of Education Releases List of Higher Education Institutions with Open Title IX Sexual Violence Investigations|url=http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-list-higher-education-institutions-open-title-i|website=U.S. Department of Education|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> In response to student and faculty outcry the college adopted a new interim sexual misconduct policy, hired a former assistant district attorney as a full-time, independent [[Title IX]] coordinator, and added a new 24-hour, 7-days-a-week telephone hotline. The school also created a permanent Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board made up of students, faculty, and staff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://occidentalweekly.com/news/2014/01/26/ruth-jones-named-new-title-ix-coordinator/ |title=Ruth Jones named new Title IX coordinator |publisher=The Occidental Weekly |access-date=August 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904050220/http://occidentalweekly.com/news/2014/01/26/ruth-jones-named-new-title-ix-coordinator/ |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxy.edu/sexual-assault-resources-support |title=Sexual Assault Resources & Support &#124; Occidental College &#124; The Liberal Arts College in Los Angeles |publisher=Oxy.edu |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/magazine/summer-2013/changing-culture |title=Changing the Culture &#124; Occidental College &#124; The Liberal Arts College in Los Angeles |date=July 16, 2013 |publisher=Oxy.edu |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> Two years later, the investigation was concluded with the Office of Civil Rights finding that "the preponderance of the evidence does not support a conclusion that the College violated Title IX, except with respect to the issue of promptness in several cases during the 2012-13 school years."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/more/09132264-a.pdf |title=Occidental College |website=2.ed.gov |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref>

President [[Barack Obama]] attended Occidental for two years prior to transferring to [[Columbia University]]. In 2015, "[[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|birthers]]" falsely claimed that Obama's Occidental College transcript revealed he received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia after the resurgence of a fake news story from 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.latimes.com/la-xpm-2012-may-30-la-pn-birthers-claim-obama-applied-to-college-as-a-foreigner-20120529-story.html | title = 'Birthers' claim Obama applied to college as a foreigner | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = May 30, 2012 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Abcarian |first=Robin}}</ref>

In July 2020, Harry J. Elam, Jr., formerly vice provost for undergraduate education and Drama professor at [[Stanford University]], became Occidental's 16th president.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watanabe|first=Teresa|date=February 11, 2020|title=New Occidental College president hailed for diversity efforts|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-11/new-occidental-college-president-hailed-for-diversity-efforts|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> In August 2023, it was announced that he will retire in 2024 for health-related reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 22, 2023 |title=My Health and the Year Ahead |url=https://www.oxy.edu/about-oxy/college-leadership/presidents-office/community-messages/my-health-and-year-ahead |access-date=August 22, 2023 |website=www.oxy.edu |language=en}}</ref>  On March 26, 2024, it was announced that [[Tom Stritikus]], late of [[Fort Lewis College]], will become Occidental's president effective July 1.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tom Stritikus Named 17th President of Occidental College  |url=
https://www.oxy.edu/news/tom-stritikus-named-17th-president-occidental-college |publisher=Occidental College |date=March 26, 2024 |access-date=March 26, 2024}}</ref>

==Campus==
Architect [[Myron Hunt]] created the original campus master plan for Occidental's [[Eagle Rock, Los Angeles|Eagle Rock]] campus in 1911. He structured the campus in a [[Mediterranean Revival architecture|Mediterranean style]], with covered walkways and tile roofs. The campus landscape was designed and developed by [[Beatrix Farrand]] in the late 1930s. All of the 19 buildings designed by Hunt remain in use today.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://occidentalweekly.com/features/2014/03/25/hunting-for-occidentals-past-a-history-of-architecture-and-landscaping-on-campus/ | title = Hunting for Occidental's Past: A History of Architecture and Landscaping on Campus | publisher = The Occidental Weekly | date = March 25, 2014 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last1 = Landon |first1=Olivia | last2 = Selassie |first2=Manna | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402005240/http://occidentalweekly.com/features/2014/03/25/hunting-for-occidentals-past-a-history-of-architecture-and-landscaping-on-campus/ | archive-date = April 2, 2015 | url-status = usurped }}</ref><ref name=mcguire>{{cite book| title=Beatrix Jones Farrand (1872–1959) – Fifty Years of American Landscape Architecture| last1=McGuire| first1=Diane Kostial| last2=Fern| first2=Lois| date=January 1, 1982| publisher=Dumbarton Oaks}}</ref>

The campus is noted for the outdoor Remsen Bird Amphitheater, where between 1960 and 1996 plays and musicals were performed in the summer.<ref name="Alfresco">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-21-ca-61979-story.html |title=Alfresco Has Landed Again in Eagle Rock |first=Shirley |last=Don |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 21, 1998 |access-date=July 3, 2020 }}</ref> Financial cutbacks caused the theater department to end the summer festival programs.<ref name="Alfresco"/> Since 1996 the Occidental Children's Theater has performed there each summer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://patch.com/california/eaglerock/ev--occidental-childrens-theater-trumpelstilskin |title=Occidental Children's Theater: 'Trumpelstiltskin' |first=Rhea |last=Borja |work=[[Patch (website)|Patch]] |date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/news/occidental-childrens-theater-runs-through-august-24 |title=Occidental Children's Theater Runs Through August 24 |website=Occidental College |first=Jim |last=Tranquada |date=July 10, 2019 |access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Alfresco"/>

Occidental College was ranked as the sixth "Most Beautiful" campus by ''[[Newsweek]]'' in 2012.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/most-beautiful-schools-newsweek-college-prowler_n_1757909.html | title = Most Beautiful Schools Ranked By Newsweek, College Prowler On Student, Campus Attractiveness | website = [[Huffington Post]] | date = August 9, 2012 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Creamer |first=Alyssa}}</ref> The campus is home to a 1-megawatt ground-mounted [[solar array]], which is the largest hillside array on an American college campus and the largest of its kind in Los Angeles.<ref name="patch13">{{cite news | url = http://patch.com/california/eaglerock/occidental-college-solar-array-nears-completion | title = Occidental College Solar Array Nears Completion | publisher = Eagle Rock Patch | date = January 10, 2013 | last= Singh |first=Ajay | newspaper = Eagle Rock, Ca Patch | access-date = March 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2013/01/occidental-college-prepares-to-plug-in-to-solar-power/ | title = Occidental College prepares to plug in to solar power | publisher = The Eastsider | date = January 7, 2013 | access-date = March 30, 2015 | last= Rees |first=Brenda}}</ref> The 4,886-panel installation was completed in Spring 2013 and inaugurated on the school's 126-year anniversary.<ref name="patch13" />

<gallery mode=packed heights= 110 >
File:OxyThorne cropped.jpg|Thorne Hall
File:Herrick Memorial Chapel n fountain.jpg|Herrick Interfaith Center, built 1964
file:Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (cropped).jpg|Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union
file:Herrick Chapel interior, Occidental College.jpg|Herrick Chapel interior
File:Johnson hall.jpg|Johnson Hall 
</gallery>

==Academics==

There are more than 40 majors offered on campus (and nine minor-only programs, including Public Health, Linguistics, and Classical Studies)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Academics|url=https://www.oxy.edu/academics|access-date=February 16, 2025|website=Occidental College|date=September 21, 2018}}</ref> and a 9:1 [[student–faculty ratio]]. The average class size is 18 students and most students take four classes per semester.<ref name=Numbers>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/admission-aid/apply/admission-facts |publisher=Occidental College |title=Admission Facts |access-date=June 12, 2018}}</ref> the most popular majors, based on 2021 graduates, were Econometrics & Quantitative Economics (46), Psychology (38), Biology/Biological Sciences (37), Political Science & Government (34), Environmental Studies (31), International Relations and Affairs (31).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Occidental&s=all&id=120254#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |title=Occidental College |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |access-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref>

=== Rankings ===
{{Infobox US university ranking
| Forbes = 102
| THE_WSJ = 95
| USNWR_LA = 34
| Wamo_LA = 46
}}

Since 1908, Occidental has graduated ten [[Rhodes Scholars]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxy.edu/x2363.xml|archive-date=April 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413005346/http://www.oxy.edu/x2363.xml|title=List of National Award Winners|publisher=oxy.edu|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ''[[U.S. News & World Report|U.S. News & World Report's]]'' 2025 rankings of American liberal arts colleges, Occidental was tied for 34th overall, tied for 18th in "Top Performers in Social Mobility," 71st for "Best Value," and tied at 102nd for "Economics."<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/occidental-college-1249/overall-rankings |title=Occidental College Rankings |year=2023|magazine=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=September 18, 2023}}</ref> The 2017 edition of the ''Fiske Guide to Colleges'' gave Occidental four-star ratings (out of five) in academics and quality of life. [[The Princeton Review|Princeton Review]]'s ''The Best 381 Colleges'' 2017 Edition gave Occidental ratings of 91 (out of 100) in academics and quality of life and 95 in financial aid. In ''[[Forbes]]''{{'}} 2019 ranking of America's Top Colleges, Occidental ranks 102nd out of 650 liberal arts colleges, universities and service academies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges|title=America's Top Colleges 2019|work=Forbes |access-date=September 8, 2019}}</ref> ''[[Kiplinger's Personal Finance|Kiplinger's]]'' "Best College Values 2019" rankings places Occidental 58th among 149 liberal arts colleges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/school/7921/occidental-college/ |title=Occidental College Ranking |publisher=Kiplinger |date=July 2019 |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref>

=== Admissions ===
'''Fall admission statistics'''
{| class="wikitable"
!
!2022<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/assets/IRAP/cds_2018-2019_for_publication_revised_after_us_news.xlsx|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2018-19}}</ref>
!2018<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/assets/IRAP/cds_2017-2018.xlsx|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2017-18}}</ref>
!2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/imported/assets/IRAP/2016-2017_revised.pdf|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2016/2017|website=oxy.edu}}</ref>
!2016<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/imported//assets/2015-2016.pdf|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2015/2016|website=oxy.edu}}</ref>
!2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/imported//assets/2014-2015.pdf|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2014/2015|website=oxy.edu}}</ref>
!2014
!2013
|-
|Applicants
|6,305
|7,281
|6,775
|6,409
|5,911
|6,071
|6,072
|-
|Admits
|2,395
|2,716
|2,831
|2,936
|2,652
|2,552
|2,574
|-
|Admit rate
|39%
|37.3%
|41.7%
|45.8%
|44.8%
|42.0%
|42.3%
|-
|Enrolled
|535
|566
|502
|517
|546
|548
|530
|}
[[U.S. News & World Report|''U.S. News'']] deemed Occidental's admissions "more selective," with the class of 2020 acceptance rate being 37.3%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/imported/assets/IRAP/2016-2017_revised.pdf|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2016/2017|website=oxy.edu}}</ref> Of those admitted submitting such data, 52% were in the top 10% of their high school class. The SAT 25th–75th percentile scores were 1810–2120.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/imported/assets/IRAP/2016-2017_revised.pdf|title=Occidental College Common Data Set 2016/2017|website=oxy.edu}}</ref> Of those admitted to the class of 2020, 50% identified as persons of color, and 13% of those admitted were international students.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alumni.oxy.edu/s/956/16/interior.aspx?sid=956&gid=1&pgid=2929|title=The Class of 2020: By the Numbers|website=oxy.edu}}</ref>

In 2023, it was announced by President Harry Elam that Occidental eliminated [[legacy preferences]] to the children of alumni in admissions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2023 |title=Obama's first college is latest to end legacy admissions |url=https://apnews.com/article/legacy-admissions-affirmative-action-obama-0bae32bcd509634d1fe96693a3186dee |access-date=August 15, 2023 |work=Associated Press News |language=en}}</ref>

==Student life==
At the beginning of every school year, freshmen participate in [[convocation]], a formal ceremony welcoming new students to the college in which the faculty wear their full academic regalia and students don robes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxy.edu/events/convocation-0 |title=Convocation &#124; Occidental College &#124; The Liberal Arts College in Los Angeles |website=Oxy.edu |date=August 29, 2012 |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> Founders Day is celebrated annually at the school on April 20, the day in 1887 when Occidental's incorporation papers were officially signed by the California Secretary of State.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxy.edu/our-story/traditions/gallery/oxy-traditions |title=Oxy Traditions &#124; Occidental College &#124; The Liberal Arts College in Los Angeles |publisher=Oxy.edu |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref>

There are also themed-living communities which consist of the Multicultural Hall in Pauley (open to all years), all-women housing (Berkus House, named after alumnus [[Dave Berkus]]), Food Justice house, and several communities that support and uplift the experiences of students of color and LGBTQIA students.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Occidental College|title=Residence Halls|date=September 21, 2018|url=http://www.oxy.edu/residential-education-housing-services/residence-halls}}</ref>

===Media===
The campus newspaper is ''The Occidental'', an independent, student-run publication. It has been published continuously since 1893.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://occidentalweekly.com/about/|title=About|work=Occidental Weekly|access-date=March 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329205835/http://occidentalweekly.com/about/|archive-date=March 29, 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

KOXY is a student-run campus [[radio station]], in operation in the 1960s and 1970s, and again since 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koxyradio.com/about|title=About|work=KOXY website|access-date=March 27, 2013}}</ref> It originally operated on the frequency 104.7 in and around campus from 1968 to 2009, but switched to only being available by webstream in 2009. KOXY sponsors several on-campus events.

In 2010, students launched a TV station called CatAList;<ref>{{cite journal |last= Anderson|first= Dick |date=Summer 2013|title= Taking Home Oscar|journal= Occidental Magazine|publisher= Occidental College }}</ref> The station produces 20–30 minutes of student-run content weekly.

===Greek life===
Occidental College's Greek Council consists of roughly eight members, both sororites and fraternities.

==Athletics==
{{Main|Occidental Tigers}}
Occidental is one of the five schools that founded the [[Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] (SCIAC) in 1915 and is currently a member of the SCIAC and [[NCAA Division III]]. Occidental features 21 varsity sports teams and a program of club sports and intramural competition. Approximately 25 percent of the student body participates in a varsity sports program.<ref name="Occidental College Athletics">{{cite news
 |title        = Occidental College Athletics
 |url          = http://www.oxy.edu/Athletics.xml
 |access-date   = August 2, 2007
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070804021514/http://www.oxy.edu/Athletics.xml
 |archive-date = August 4, 2007
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

During the 2006–2007 athletic season, the Tigers [[Cross country running|cross country]], [[American football]] and [[basketball]] teams were [[Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] champions. In 2014, diver Jessica Robson set the [[Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] records for both 1m and 3m diving.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.thesciac.org/sports/wswimdive/2013-14/releases/20140303lf748p|title=SCIAC Is Proud To Announce Women's Swimming and Diving All-Conference|date=March 3, 2014|website=SCIAC|access-date=March 10, 2016}}</ref> The school's Blackshirts [[Rugby union]] team was also league champion for the first time in five years. In 2011, Jeremy Castro ('99) and Patrick Guthrie ('86) steered the squad to a NSCRO final, falling to [[Longwood University]] 36–27 in [[Virginia Beach]], [[Virginia]]. In addition the college has a dance team that also performs at every home football and basketball game.<ref name="Occidental College Athletics"/>

Occidental athletics date back to 1894, when the college helped organize the first intercollegiate athletic competition in Southern California.<ref>Rolle, Andrew (1986) Occidental College: A Centennial History, p. 14</ref> Since then, Oxy has produced more than a dozen Olympians, world-record holders, and national champions, including 1935 national girls' tennis champion Pat Henry Yeomans '38, two-time diving gold medalist [[Sammy Lee (diver)|Sammy Lee]] '43, and pole vault silver medalist [[Bob Gutowski]] '57.

Occidental has long-standing football rivalries with [[Pomona College]] and [[Occidental–Whittier football rivalry|Whittier College]]; the Tigers have played both the Sagehens and the Poets over 100 times. In 1982, the Occidental College football team had the rare opportunity for national prominence when, due to the [[1982 National Football League season|1982 National Football League strike]], their game with [[San Diego Toreros football|San Diego]] was broadcast on national television. In 2017, Occidental cancelled the remainder of its football season due to lack of healthy players, as few as 30 in some cases. The team forfeited two games and was outscored in the other three 170–19. The Tigers played nine games in 2019, finishing with a 1–8 record. It was the final season for the Tigers football team. The school dropped football in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://footballscoop.com/news/d-iii-program-has-decided-to-drop-football/|title = D-III program has decided to drop football| date=October 14, 2020 }}</ref>

In 2011, Occidental College lost a basketball game to [[Caltech]] with a score of 46 to 45 giving the [[Caltech Beavers]] their first conference win in 26 years and putting an end to their 310-game losing streak.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/ncb/columns/story?id=6153222 |title=The Caltech Beavers men's basketball team finally solves equation |website=[[ESPN]] |date=February 24, 2011 |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref>

In 2019, the Occidental Men's Basketball Team reached the SCIAC championship game, ultimately losing to Pomona Pitzer in the Tournament Championship game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=WHARTON |first=DAVID |date=February 28, 2019 |title=As the likes of USC and UCLA have struggled, tiny Pomona-Pitzer has big basketball dreams |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-pomona-pitzer-ncaa-basketball-20190227-story.html |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Famous Occidental College Tigers include NFL coach [[Jim E. Mora]], former American Football League Most Valuable Player and politician [[Jack Kemp]], former NFL player [[Vance Mueller]], 2011 U.S. Senior Open Champion [[Olin Browne]], CFL Quarterback [[Bryan James Scott]] ([[Toronto Argonauts]]) and CFL player [[Justin Goltz]] ([[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]]).

== Notable people ==
{{main|List of Occidental College people}}<gallery mode="nolines" class="center">
File:President Barack Obama.jpg|[[Barack Obama]], 44th [[President of the United States|U.S. President]], [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate (''transferred'')
File:Eric Garcetti LA 2024 (25282198229).jpg|[[Eric Garcetti]], 42nd [[Mayor of Los Angeles]] (''Professor'')
File:Jack Kemp official portrait.jpg|[[Jack Kemp]], 9th [[United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development|U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]] and NFL player
File:RobertHFinch.jpg|[[Robert Finch (American politician)|Robert Finch]], 38th [[Lieutenant Governor of California]]
File:Terry Gilliam (32703418337) CROPPED.jpg|[[Terry Gilliam]], [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]]-winning filmmaker and former member of [[Monty Python]]
File:Ben Affleck by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg|[[Ben Affleck]], actor and [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning filmmaker (''did not graduate'')
File:Luke Wilson (2016).jpg|[[Luke Wilson]], actor (''did not graduate'')
</gallery>Notable graduates of Occidental College include filmmaker [[Terry Gilliam]], football player and politician [[Jack Kemp]], pioneering African-American physicist and inventor [[George Edward Alcorn Jr.]], former [[New Orleans Saints]] and [[Indianapolis Colts]] head coach [[Jim E. Mora]], co-inventor of the hard disk drive [[William Goddard (engineer)|William Goddard]], psychopharmacologist and professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine [[Roland Griffiths]], federal judge [[Jacqueline Nguyen]], academic, film executive and novelist [[August Coppola]], historian and chancellor of the California State University system [[Glenn S. Dumke|Glenn Dumke]], former Lieutenant Governor of California [[Robert Finch (American politician)|Robert Finch]], adventurer and writer [[Homer Lea]], poet [[Robinson Jeffers]], librarian and writer [[Lawrence Clark Powell]], entertainment journalist [[Sam Rubin]], [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]]-winning actress [[Joanna Gleason]], civil rights activist [[Ernesto Galarza]], television director [[Jesús Salvador Treviño|Jesus Salvador Trevino]], voice actress and internet personality [[Ashly Burch]], entertainment executive [[John Branca]], political scientist [[Eqbal Ahmad]], journalist and current dean of [[Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism]] [[Steve Coll]], actor and writer [[George Nader]], veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering [[Joe Rohde]], former CEO of Warner Music Group [[Stephen Cooper (businessman)|Stephen Cooper]], President of Catholic University of America [[Peter Kilpatrick]], Ambassador to Armenia and former [[chargé d'affaires]] to Ukraine during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] [[Kristina Kvien]], Dartmouth Professor [[Steve Swayne]], and civil rights activist and initiator of "[[We Shall Overcome]]" [[Guy Carawan]].

Notable alumni who did not graduate from Occidental include the [[List of presidents of the United States|44th U.S. President]] [[Barack Obama]], former First Lady of Colorado [[Dottie Lamm]], [[Academy Award]]–winning actor and filmmaker [[Ben Affleck]], actor [[Luke Wilson]], actor [[Nicholas Braun]], filmmaker and actor [[Cooper Raiff]], producer [[Todd Garner]], and actress [[Emily Osment]].

Notable faculty members include the American urban policy analyst [[Peter Dreier]], former [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Finland|U.S. Ambassador to Finland]] [[Derek Shearer]], former [[CNN]] and [[Fox News]] contributor Caroline Heldman, chemist [[Frank L. Lambert]], art historian and author [[Amy Lyford]], and the 2005 PEN American Center Literary Award winner in poetry [[Martha Ronk]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Cleland, Robert Glass. ''The History of Occidental College, 1887-1937'' (Los Angeles: the Ward Ritchie Press, 1937).
* Rolle, Andrew F. ''Occidental College: A Centennial History, 1887-1987'' (1986), a major scholarly history
* {{Cite journal |first=Stuart |last=Silverstein |date=March 16, 2005 |title=Fired Campus Radio 'Shock Jock' Sues College |newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]] |page=4 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-16-me-occy16-story.html|access-date=March 30, 2013 }}
* {{Cite journal |first=Conor L. |last=Sanchez |date=March 3, 2006 |title= College 101: Working For Your Social Life|journal= [[Santa Fe New Mexican]] |page=D3 |url= http://santa-fe.vlex.com/vid/college-101-working-your-social-life-80345869|access-date=March 30, 2013 }}
* {{Cite journal |first= Alex |last=Dobuzinskis|date=October 20, 2007 |title=Ex-'Shock Jock' Settles Suit|newspaper= [[Los Angeles Daily News]] |page=N6 |url= http://thefire.org/article/8512.html|access-date=March 30, 2013 }}

==External links==
{{ccat}}
* {{oweb}}
* [https://oxyathletics.com/ Athletics website]
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