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Year in Review: Top News Highlights and Feature Stories of 2024

The Communications Office

At year’s end, we’re celebrating the top 2024 news highlights at º£½ÇÉçÇø as well as the most-viewed feature stories from Occidental magazine.

Top Five News Highlights
Occidental Magazine Features

Top Five News Highlights

Tom Stritikus headshot

Tom Stritikus Named 17th President of º£½ÇÉçÇø

March 26: The º£½ÇÉçÇø Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Tom Stritikus as the College’s 17th president. Stritikus comes to Occidental from his position as president of Fort Lewis College, a public liberal arts college located in Durango, Colorado.


º£½ÇÉçÇø Rises in US News & World Report Rankings

September 24: Occidental rose one place in US News & World Report’s 2025 Best College Rankings, landing at No. 34 nationally among liberal arts colleges, a 15-year high.


John Branca '72 and º£½ÇÉçÇø President Harry J. Elam, Jr.

John Branca ’72 Announces $5 Million Gift to Establish the John Branca Institute for Music

June 4: Legendary attorney John G. Branca ’72, partner and head of the music department at Ziffren Brittenham, one of the most respected entertainment law firms in the world, and º£½ÇÉçÇø have announced a $5 million gift from Branca that will establish the John Branca Institute for Music, a music teaching and learning facility at º£½ÇÉçÇø in Los Angeles. 


The 2024-25 Obama Scholars Cohort at º£½ÇÉçÇø

Nine Students Selected for 2024–25 Obama Scholars Program

April 22: º£½ÇÉçÇø has announced its 2024–25 cohort of Barack Obama Scholars, the prestigious leadership training program that seeks to empower exceptional students committed to the public good.


Sammy Lee º£½ÇÉçÇø Olympian standing in front of a photo of him as a young man diving

º£½ÇÉçÇø at the Olympics: Keeping the Flame Alive

July 24: For a small liberal arts college, Occidental’s numbers are impressive: 21 Olympic athletes in eight sports, seven of whom won a total of nine medals.



 

Occidental Magazine Features

These are the five most-viewed feature stories published by Occidental magazine in 2024.

º£½ÇÉçÇø's 17th president, Tom Stritikus, in April 2024.

Introducing Tom Stritikus (Spring 2024)

Occidental’s president-elect is a first-generation college graduate and a firm believer in the transformative power of a liberal arts education.


Vidiots reopened for business in June 2023 at the former home of the Eagle Theatre,

Neighborhood Watch (Spring 2024)

Eagle Rock and Highland Park have become magnets for new businesses, including the resurrected Eagle Theatre (now home to Vidiots). What’s changed—and what’s still in fashion?


Coach Rod Lafaurie and members of the 2023 men's soccer team

Kicking and Dreaming (Winter 2024)

From its first SCIAC championship to a berth in the Sweet 16, º£½ÇÉçÇø men’s soccer soared to new heights this season. But Coach Rod Lafaurie and his players are hungry for more.


Sustainability activities at º£½ÇÉçÇø.

Changing the Climate (Summer 2024)

Emboldened by a proactive student body, º£½ÇÉçÇø doubles down on its commitment to a more sustainable campus.


Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda in Tall Story, filmed at Occidental in the fall of 1959.

Trivial Pursuits II (Summer 2024)

So you still think you know º£½ÇÉçÇø? Put your memory to the test (and your guessing cap on) with 30 new Tiger teasers.