Campaign Impact Report

FOR GOOD

The Oxy Campaign For Good Renews Campus

In just over three years since its public launch, The Oxy Campaign For Good already has had a major impact on the Occidental campus.

Thanks to generous community support, we have been able to invest nearly $30 million in renewing and reinvigorating a wide variety of important spaces across campus. The results have enhanced the Oxy student experience and improved resources for faculty and staff for generations to come. They include:

REIMAGINED ACADEMIC SPACES

Campaign gifts have enabled us to create new spaces for the Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences, Choi Family Music Production Center, Hameetman Career Center and Oxy Arts, all of which support student and faculty discovery and innovation.

REVITALIZED ATHLETIC FACILITIES

New best-in-class venues like the De Mandel Aquatics Center, McKinnon Family Tennis Center and Robinson Terrace, together with key renovations, such as the resurfacing of the famed Bill Henry Track and Looby Family Long Jump Pit, give our student-athletes new and improved facilities that help them thrive in practice and competition.

CAMPUS BEAUTIFICATION

Campaign gifts have given new life to cherished campus landmarks, such as the Lucille Y. Gilman Memorial Fountain and redesigned Sycamore Glen. The dedication of the Barack Obama ’83 Steps celebrates one of our most distinguished alumni; the transformation of Taylor Pool into Cannon Plaza will create a striking new multipurpose space.

Throughout the campaign’s final year, we will continue to seek opportunities to modernize our facilities and develop new structures with the technologies and resources needed to support Oxy students and faculty in the 21st century.

THE OXY CAMPAIGN

How the Oxy Campaign For Good Has Transformed Campus

Through The Oxy Campaign For Good, our community’s support has enhanced every corner of our campus and every facet of student life. The upcoming renovation of Norris Hall of Chemistry will further our mission to modernize our academic spaces to support cutting-edge scholarship by Oxy faculty and students.

Fletcher Jones

Percussion

Fletcher Jones Foundation

Herrick Memorial Chapel and

Cannon Plaza

Barack Obama ’83 Steps

Sycamore Glen

Lucille Y. Gilman Memorial Fountain

Toland Way Veterans Housing (off-campus)

Cannon Rotunda

Improvements: Gresham Dining Hall

Poised To Be a Premier Liberal Arts Science Program

Occidental has a distinguished tradition in the sciences, with students and alumni who consistently earn prestigious national and international recognition for their work. Over the past 30 years alone, Oxy science majors have received two Rhodes Scholarships, more than 50 National Science Foundation graduate fellowships and more than 40 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships.

These achievements are due in large part to the efforts of our distinguished faculty in the sciences — researchers and educators who are dedicated to training the next generation of trailblazers in disciplines ranging from biology and geology to kinesiology and computer science. Recruiting, retaining and supporting outstanding faculty will be critical for strengthening Oxy’s efforts to create the next generation of leading liberal arts–trained scientists.

Further, our continued strategic investment in the science division will benefit a large and diverse cohort of students. More Oxy students major in the sciences today than in the social sciences or arts and humanities. Almost twothirds of science majors are women, and 40 percent are students of color. Compared with our peer institutions, Occidental is a leader in the number of science degrees awarded to both students of color overall and to students from underrepresented minorities.

– Michael Kwan ’20, a physics and music major now pursuing a doctorate in physics at the University of Maryland

“As the first person in my family to attend college, I discovered a possible path through graduate education toward a career in research, thanks to my participation in Oxy’s undergraduate research program.”

Research Puts Oxy Students Ahead of the Curve

As we look toward the future of the sciences at Occidental, our vision is simple: To ensure Oxy’s standing as a premier liberal arts college in science education and research.

Realizing that vision requires an active research environment; a strong and dedicated corps of science faculty; and state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment and teaching resources. We must continue to ensure that students’ classroom activities are integrated with meaningful experiences in the lab that provide opportunities to design and execute experiments and interpret research.

Because research is at the core of Oxy’s science curriculum, our students graduate with lab experience that is often out of reach for undergraduates at larger research institutions — a critical advantage for Oxy students pursuing advanced degrees in the sciences.

Beyond the experience they gain in the lab, science students also benefit from Oxy’s interdisciplinary liberal arts education. Our curriculum equips them to understand scientific problems within a broader context, to address the world’s most compelling scientific questions from a variety of perspectives, and to effectively communicate the significance of their research.

Thanks to their grounding in the humanities and social sciences, Oxy scientists are also uniquely prepared to tackle emerging ethical dilemmas in the sciences — an increasingly vital role in today’s complex world — as they share a deep commitment to employing science in service of the public good.

Investing in the Future: The Renovation of the Kenneth T. Norris Hall of Chemistry

To better support our outstanding current faculty and to attract and retain exceptional new faculty and students, the College is committed to improving Oxy’s science facilities, and to upgrading our equipment and technology. Already, generous gifts combined with investments from the College have allowed us to renovate the Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences, providing modern spaces that are better equipped for undergraduate study and research.

Now, our attention turns to Norris Hall of Chemistry, which opened in 1960. Its last significant renovation — an upgrade of its organic chemistry labs — took place three decades ago, in 1990. While the College has funded mechanical upgrades since then to ensure safety, the overall structure remains largely unchanged, so much so that generations of alumni would still recognize the lab, office and common spaces.

Norris Hall of Chemistry can continue to serve our campus far into the future, but meeting that goal requires nothing less than its transformation into a state-of-the-art facility fully capable of supporting modern science.

With support from the Board of Trustees, the College is finalizing plans for a complete renovation of the building, including a significant and much-needed expansion of lab space. The renovation would be the single largest capital improvement project made possible by the Campaign For Good, and one of the largest in Oxy’s history.

A modernized Norris Hall of Chemistry will help position Oxy as a premier science program among liberal arts colleges by:

• Expanding and renovating lab spaces to continue fostering close faculty-student partnerships.

• Providing the types of modern, state-of-the-art technology, research equipment and facilities that can help attract and retain faculty who combine cutting-edge research with compelling teaching.

• Creating new spaces that encourage collaboration among our students, promoting opportunities for enhanced creative thinking and problem solving.

The renovation plan will transform Norris Hall of Chemistry, with all teaching labs scheduled to be fully operational by fall 2024.

Planned in close collaboration with our science faculty, the renovation will exponentially increase the functionality of lab and teaching spaces. It will create common areas, indoors and outdoors, that are fresh, warm and inspiring, designed to encourage collaboration across disciplines and promote a healthful working and learning environment. The thoughtful design was developed to maximize flexibility, efficiency, safety and resource sharing.

Highlights will include:

• New teaching laboratories with updated equipment and teaching technologies.

• New faculty research laboratories and offices which will be similarly sized to ensure equity.

• A new 2,200-square-foot Academic Mastery Program. Occidental’s Academic Mastery Program is a collaborative workshop program that promotes excellence in biology, chemistry, math and physics. The center will house a flexible space that can be configured into two classrooms, informal tutoring and social areas, or a venue for lectures and receptions. The only major addition planned as part of the renovation, it will feature three large doors that will allow a seamless transition to the courtyard outside.

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The redesigned courtyard will provide much-needed exterior space that can be set up as an extension of AMP, outdoor classroom and a social gathering place.

To learn more, and to join the community in support of the critical renovation of Norris Hall of Chemistry, please visit campaign.oxy.edu/norris

“Our faculty and students are conducting exciting, cutting-edge research. It’s time that our building matched the caliber of the work we’re doing. This renovation ensures that it will.”

– Raul Navarro, Assistant Professor of Chemistry