Occidental Launches $225 Million Comprehensive Campaign

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May 21, 2019, 16:10 ET

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Occidental College launched the public phase of the Oxy Campaign for Good, a comprehensive effort to raise $225 million to strengthen its financial aid endowment and academic and co-curricular programs, at a May 18 Campaign Leadership Summit on the Occidental campus.

"I have always believed in the power of a liberal arts education to change lives, and that's what Oxy does better than anyone. This ambitious campaign aims to bring our community together to invest in Oxy's future and expand our ability to do what we do best—identifying and educating talent wherever we find it," says President Jonathan Veitch.

"Occidental alumni consistently demonstrate that the best preparation for the complexities of today's world is a liberal arts education," Veitch says. "Occidental provides the foundation not just for their success, but fosters a desire to make the world a better place and equips them for their vital role as citizens of a democracy."

Building on the momentum of a quiet phase that has already raised more than $118 million in gifts and pledges—already far in excess of any previous campaign—overall goals for the For Good campaign (campaign.oxy.edu) include $100 million for endowed student scholarships; $50 million for endowed professorships and student programs; $40 million for the modernization and beautification of Occidental's historic campus; and $35 million in annual support to underwrite the experience of current students.

"All of us involved in the campaign have experienced the transformative power of an Oxy liberal arts education, whether as a student, parent, or both," says financial adviser and trustee Anne Wilson Cannon '74, who is co-chairing the campaign with real estate investor and adviser William M. Kahane '70 and trustee Gil Kemp P'04, founder and former president of Home Decorators Collection.

"We're dedicated to doing what we can to bring the Oxy community together in order to develop the resources the College needs to secure its future," Cannon says. "We're excited about the idea of giving back to the College that has done so much for us by growing the endowment and generating more resources for students and faculty."

The campaign's priorities were formulated after lengthy consultations with alumni, faculty, students, parents and staff, including the 21 alumni and parents who served on the College's Student Access and Opportunity Task Force, co-chaired by trustees Rick Rugani '75 and Eileen Brown '73.

Financial aid made it possible for Rugani and his siblings—older brother Frank '70 and younger sister Maria '78—to get an Occidental education. "There's no way our family would have been able to finance all the kids going to college," he says. For Brown, a first-generation college student whose father died unexpectedly at the start of her sophomore year, financial aid made all the difference. "I still remember that tuition was $2,400 a year, because I had to pay for it," she says.

"The task force gave me a better understanding of the challenges College managers face in providing needed scholarships to talented Oxy students," says Rugani, a retired independent financial adviser. "It's clear that building the endowment is going to be central to Oxy's ability to continue to fulfill its mission."

About Occidental

Founded in 1887 as one of Los Angeles' first institutions of higher learning, Occidental College is a nationally recognized, private college of the liberal arts, one of the few located in a major city. The distinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the College's academic program seeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual goals and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good.

Some 2,036 students from 46 states and 58 countries can choose from 44 majors and minors and participate in one the country's top undergraduate research programs. Course work is integrated with opportunities to study in more than 50 countries, internships and participation in Oxy's distinctive United Nations and Campaign Semester programs.

Contact: Jim Tranquada [email protected], (323) 259-2990

SOURCE Occidental College