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