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Dear Oxy Tigers,

Like many schools across the country, the 2020-2021 academic year was laden with challenges imposed by COVID-19. Oxy students, faculty and staff were not alone as they completed a third semester of learning, teaching and working remotely. There is great joy in being back on campus this year, albeit with restrictions.

There is also great joy in announcing that, despite these challenging times, the Oxy Fund had another immensely successful year—raising over $5.6 million in unrestricted funding by the end of June! We want to thank the more than 4,300 alumni, parents, students, staff, faculty, friends and volunteers who contributed to this remarkable achievement. When Oxy students and faculty needed you most, you showed up. Thank you for supporting a smooth transition to remote learning, for ensuring a solid educational experience for students and for safeguarding the future of the College. You earned your Bengal stripes!

Gifts to the Oxy Fund provide flexible, current-use funds that allow the College to navigate the unexpected while enriching the student experience. During the 2020-2021 academic year, Oxy Fund dollars were critical in supporting the remote teaching and learning experience. The Oxy Fund supported new health and safety protocols, building safety upgrades, essential technology support, increases to financial aid packages and so much more.

Thank you for investing in Oxy’s mission by contributing to the Oxy Fund this past year. Your continued generosity demonstrates a collective appreciation for the teachings, friendships and experiences shared on Oxy’s beautiful campus. Your philanthropy is an inspiring example of what we can achieve together to support future generations of Tigers.

With gratitude,

Lakshmi Dastur-Johnson ’88 P’21

Raymond S. Yen, M.D. ’82

Co-chairs, The Oxy Fund

Your Impact

Supporting a fully remote teaching and learning experience for our students and faculty while maintaining a safe but limited on-campus life required immediate financial support. Every gift to the Oxy Fund made a significant impact on our ability to have a successful 2020-2021 academic year. Thank you.

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Oxy student studies in computer lab

Technology support

Your gifts to the Oxy Fund allowed the College to fulfill every technology request from students and faculty, including laptops, wifi hotspots and software needs.

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Student receives COVID vaccine at Occidental College.

Health & Safety

From providing daily COVID testing and PPE to vaccine distribution, The Oxy Fund helped the College remain open safely as needed. Donor support continued to assist with all health and safety needs as campus life resumed in August 2021.

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The Occidental Glee Club performs via zoom

Pivoting to remote learning

Oxy faculty and students embraced, explored and experimented with technology to keep arts classes, exhibits and performances humming.

Connecting Our Students and Families

Keeping our students and their families connected to Oxy was a priority in this challenging year. Thankfully, our Telefund student callers reached out to dozens of new students to welcome them to the Oxy community. Current Oxy parents also played a key role in encouraging giving to the Oxy Fund.

We are deeply appreciative of this collective effort to support the Oxy community.

“Admission calling was an excellent way to touch base with prospective and admitted students especially since the pandemic kept them away from campus.”

Telefund student caller

“One girl asked if I was on campus because she enjoyed our conversation so much that she was going to bring me In N Out to thank me!”

Telefund student caller

"We think it’s important to support Oxy because we know that tuition doesn’t cover all of the financial needs of the college and we want to see Oxy continue to thrive."

 

Dr. Cathy Farrell and David Simmons P'23
Oxy Fund Parents Council

"The chance to go to a school like Occidental has been invaluable for August. We give because we want others to have the same opportunity to grow and learn in this amazing community."

 

Mindy Duryea and Sandy Draper P'24
Oxy Fund Parents Council

Join Us and Support Oxy

Your support of The Oxy Campaign For Good impacts students today and for generations to come. Please join us.