CAMPUS NOTES
Annual Staff Luncheon Honors Oxy Milestones and Distinguished Service Recipients:
Congratulations to Oxy’s dedicated staff members who were duly recognized for their milestone years of service—from five to 50 years—at the Annual Staff Recognition Ceremony held in the Academic Quad on May 25 as well as our Distinguished Service Award winners as follows:
Sarah A. Gilman Memorial Award for Staff: Beatrice Gonzales, Department Coordinator for Theater and Performing Arts Facilities, and Michael Reyes, Grounds Maintenance B, Facilities Management
Carolyn D. Adams Award Memorial Award for Administrators: Albina Ferreyra, Operations Project Manager for Finance, and Ronald Siliezar, HRIS Project Leader, Budget and Planning
L. Robert Torres Award Memorial Award (for one to three years of service to the College): Anaid Garcia Figueroa, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Finance and General Counsel.
IN THE NEWS
Students Explore Sustainable Development, Politics and Economics in Germany
A unique economics course at Oxy took students to four German cities for a dynamic summer field component following a spring semester on campus.
Occidental Faculty Honored for Teaching, Scholarship and Service
Nine Occidental College professors have been honored for exceptional teaching, advising, scholarship and service by their students and colleagues.
NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Awarded to Four Alumni and One Senior
https://www.oxy.edu/news/nsf-graduate-research-fellowships-awarded-four…
Four Occidental alumni and a graduating senior have been awarded prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Presented annually to candidates in the sciences and social sciences who are pursuing a master’s degree or Ph.D., the fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study.
Occidental Students and Alumni Win Six Fulbrights
https://www.oxy.edu/news/occidental-students-and-alumni-win-six-fulbrig…
Six Occidental students and alumni were recently awarded acceptance into the prestigious Fulbright Program, the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Government. Two current students and one alumnus were also selected as alternates for the program.
Cannon Plaza Opens as Oxy's Newest Outdoor Venue
The plaza can accommodate up to 250 guests in a beautiful outdoor setting.
HR CORNER
As a leading corporate discount program provider, Working Advantage provides opportunities for savings on the purchase of theme park tickets, hotels, rental cars and more. After accessing the Working Advantage website, you will be prompted to login in using your full oxy.edu email address (Note: First-time users will need to register an account and create a login password). Once logged in, you will be able to explore and take advantage of a variety of employee discounts.
We're pleased to announce that Oxy's 403(b) retirement plan vendor, TIAA, will resume on-campus 1:1 retirement plan counseling sessions. Upcoming dates are July 14, July 28, August 21 and August 25. More details to follow regarding scheduling an in-person counseling session.
Family Field Day:
Following lunch in the Academic Quad, it was wonderful to celebrate Family Field Day on Bell Field on May 25. Oxy employees and their families enjoyed listening to and dancing to Professor Ron Solórzano’s superb band, Mestizo, posing for caricatures and having their faces painted by professional artists. The beer garden and Paradise Ice Cream truck proved to be as popular as ever (although the dunking tank was missed by many). Please enjoy the photos of our colleagues enjoying themselves at Family Field Day!
Here is the latest list of arrivals and departures from May 26 to June 20.
Arrivals:
Jordan Brown, Grounds Maintenance
Gabriela Callero, Assistant Director of the Oxy Fund
Jillian Furiga, Assistant Director for Career Education & Advising
Renata Horvatek, Assistant Director for Career Education & Advising
Alison Hwang, Financial Aid Coordinator
Carpenter Pagett, Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruitment Coordinator
Trinidad Santos, Dishroom Assistant
Advait Thakur, Writing Center Department Services Coordinator
Departures:
Luis Aguilar, Residence Halls, Cleaning Services
Vannessa Alvarado, Associate Registrar (Curriculum)
Marcy Carrillo, Teacher II, Child Development Center
Jacquelyn Moon, Senior Administrative Assistant, Music and Education
Ronald Munoz, Master Calendar Coordinator
David Olmedo-Barrera, Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruitment Coordinator
Bridget Perez, Bookstore Course Materials Coordinator
Rocio Ramos, Assistant Director of Events, Office of the President
Sarah Rodriguez, Neighborhood Partnership Program Academic Adviser
Carla Saucedo, Tiger Cooler Cashier
STAFF SHOUT-OUTS
From Martha Matsuoka ’83, executive director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute: Deep appreciation and a big thank you to our amazing UEPI Grants Manager Amy Jarboe ! Through her skillful and committed work, Amy has supported staff and faculty to secure and manage complicated grants. She has done this with grace, patience, and incredible problem solving all the while making time to learn about urban agriculture and tend to the FEAST chickens! Thank you, Amy, for all you bring to UEPI and our community.
From Dana Brandsey ’02, director of alumni and parent engagement: A huge shout-out to the amazing Alumni Reunion Weekend Planning Team: Kevin Brown, Amy Reyes, Leanne Sappington, Culley Johnson, Jennifer Conroy, Sabrina Alfaro, Kelsey Belli, Brigette Young, Kathy Lopez, Loralee Ocasio, Amber Thai, and Jane Lee. You all rocked ARW23 and I'm so grateful for everyone's work! Thank you to all those colleagues in IA and around campus who pitched in to drive a golf cart, check in a guest, attend a session, and so much more!
From Julie Tanaka, director of special collections and College archives: The Oxy Library congratulates Alanna Quan ’15 for earning her master’s in library and information science from UCLA! Alanna graduated from Oxy with honors in religious studies and is currently the Library's resource sharing assistant, where she serves as the primary administrator for our interlibrary loan operations. We are very proud of the hard work and dedication she demonstrated while pursuing her degree and are excited to see what the future holds for her. Congrats, Alanna!
KUDOS
Professor of Politics Peter Dreier and co-author Robert Elias examine the history of labor struggles between professional baseball players and team owners during the Gilded Age in an article for HistoryNet. Additionally, in the Boston Globe, Dreier explains why Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's proposal for rent control—which requires approval of the state legislature—is both pro-business and pro-tenant and will help address the city's serious housing crisis.
Assistant Professor of Politics Isaac Hale appeared on LiveNOW TV news to discuss a variety of May 2023 news items, including changes in national immigration policy, the debt ceiling, a civil suit against former President Donald Trump, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch. Hale also appeared on Spectrum News and LiveNOW to discuss the impact and politics of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's extended Senate absence as well as on President Joe Biden's announcement that he is seeking reelection. Additionally, in a news story published in Roll Call, Hale discusses how vulnerable House Republicans have held their seats in recent cycles. The news story discusses how a major Democratic super PAC is announcing plans to spend $35 million on California House races in 2024.
In a new article in Metal Music Studies, Assistant Professor of Music Stephen Hudson demonstrates how several famous metal songs have forms which musically act out the narratives described in the song's lyrics.
Associate Professor of Music Shanna Lorenz was interviewed by Scientific American about her work using digital applications to support Indigenous research and data sovereignty.
Jesse Rivera has been promoted to the position of painter/carpenter in Oxy’s facilities management department. Congratulations to Jesse, who shared a message: “I'm always grateful for working in the Oxy community.”
Assistant Professor of Geology Nikki Seymour and colleagues integrate multiple types of datasets with inverse computer modeling to extract the long-term topographic history of Southern Italy in a new paper published in Nature Geoscience. They find that deeply subducted oceanic slabs can set up new circulation cells in Earth's mantle, which keep topography low unless they are disrupted.
For more information on faculty scholarship and accomplishments, visit the Center for Research & Scholarship.
CAMPUS CALENDAR
Saturday, July 6-August 19: Occidental Children's Theater presents Snow White and the 007 Dwarfs