The Biology Department faculty and staff have read several articles and books to educate themselves on the historical and current practices of racism in science. We want to share some of these materials and continue these discussions to move toward a more inclusive, anti-racist community. We invite your additional thoughts and ideas, your voices and concerns, and we pledge to listen and engage with you every step of the way.
Books
This concert is free and open to the public. Stay afterward for an informal reception with Glee Club members and director Desiree La Vertu.
Presented by the Occidental College Music Department.
When Chino High School class valedictorian Dale Morter ’56 visited Occidental for the first time, he had all but chosen Pomona. But a teacher at Chino—an Occidental graduate—urged him to take a look at Oxy. He got a campus tour from Dean of Men Ben Culley, who offered him a scholarship that same day.
“If I went to Pomona, I would have lived at home,” Morter recalls. Instead, he chose Oxy, where he majored in psychology, joined ATO fraternity, and eventually became a “dorm daddy” (’50s speak for resident assistant). “It worked out really well,” he says.
Growing up in Highland Park, “Occidental has always been part of my life,” Celestina Castillo says. Her mother participated in the College’s Upward Bound program in the 1970s, and in her five years (2003-08) of working at the nonprofit Los Angeles County Children’s Planning Council, Castillo collaborated with Occidental’s Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL) on educational organizing efforts in Northeast Los Angeles.
As a student filmmaker at Occidental, Thom Harp ’92’s storytelling choices gravitated toward affairs of the heart—even if his approach to the subject matter feels a little jaded in hindsight. His senior comps film, Be My Girl, was about a man who is in love with a blow-up doll and the marital troubles that ensued. An earlier short, The Proof is in the Pudding, depicted a 1950s housewife who poisons her husband with the titular dessert. “I was not in a good place with relationships,” he admits with a laugh.
Stephen F. Hinchliffe Jr. ’55, former chair of the Occidental College Board of Trustees and a devoted steward of his alma mater, passed away December 9. A longtime resident of Palos Verdes Estates, he was 92.
Best-selling author, political commentator, and Bulwark writer-at-large Tim Miller addressed party dynamics, the future of the conservative movement, and antidotes to doomscrolling as the 2025-26 Jack Kemp ’57 Distinguished Lecturer at Occidental College on October 21.
Editor's note: Dr. Marsha Kinder, who founded film and media studies as a member of the Occidental faculty from 1965 to 1980, died November 26, 2025, in Los Angeles. She was 85. A native of Los Angeles, Marsha received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at UCLA. Survivors include her husband, Nicolás Bautista; their children; and her extended family. A memorial service was held at Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills on December 2. The following tribute was prepared by the faculty of the Media Arts & Culture Department.
The Occidental Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed five new inductees with a spirited ceremony in Cannon Plaza—site of the old Taylor Pool—on October 19, with coaches, family, teammates, and colleagues inducting this year’s honorees. Established in 2012, the Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding achievement in competition, service, dedication, and commitment to Oxy athletics.
Community and service are two of Occidental’s core values, and I view them as inseparable. When we belong to a community, we commit to serving it, and as our mission states, service is the ultimate purpose of a liberal arts education. There’s power in the combination of those values, both here on campus and through our network of thousands of alumni.