Talk:Jonathan Veitch

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Notability[edit]

How is this guy not notable? He's a current college president, and many current college presidents have their own entries. Plus, he has also written some books. Purplebackpack89 (talk) 06:21, 20 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

134.69.4.156's edits[edit]

134.69.4.156, which is an Occidental College IP range, apparently copied the article directly from an Oxy web page, [1]. Comparing his last edit and the text there, they are virtually the same. We need to change it up a little, and add more outside/non-Oxy references. Probably when he's invested on the 24th, there will be an article about him in the LA Times.

Purplebackpack89 (talk) 23:18, 6 October 2009 (UTC), an Oxy student and the guy who started the Veitch article in first place[reply]

Well, my suggestion is to revert back to this revision. It's clear enough that 134.69.4.156 has added the copyrighted material. Minimac (talk) 21:28, 13 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Done Purplebackpack89 21:39, 13 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Controversy over handling of sexual misconduct cases at Occidental[edit]

Two Wikipedia editors - ElKevbo and EB423 - are adding contentious and unbalanced material at this entry regarding handling of sexual misconduct issues at Occidental College. It appears that they are using Wikipedia to actively debate these issues. They have been non-responsive to efforts to talk about how the three core policies for biographies of living persons on Wikipedia apply to this article, and simply add back material to this entry that has been deleted for lack of neutrality and balance.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:ElKevbo

Globalglo (talk) 18:01, 23 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

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Proposed updates[edit]

I'm User:Edgewood2048 and I work at Occidental College. This bio doesn't appear to have had any significant updates in at least three years. To make it more up-to-date and less random, I’d like to propose some additions. I have used the wiki bios of other liberal arts college presidents as a model, including Carolyn “Biddy” Martin of Amherst; Valerie Smith of Swarthmore; and Clayton Spencer of Bates. However, I want to make sure that I follow WP:COI and gather as much consensus for these changes as possible. So I'm posting my proposals here to solicit input. All proposed additions are in bold.

Edit request

Early Life and Education
Second paragraph: Clarify he attended Loyola HS in Los Angeles, and add a little biographical detail:

Veitch attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles before he received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in English and American Literature. After graduation, he traveled across the country for a year, working on a dairy farm in Nebraska, on a Mississippi tugboat, and loading fish in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Source: https://peterholslin.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/jonathan-veitch-dean-of-eugene-lang-college-will-step-down/, accessed 3 January 2018. He later received his doctoral degree in the History of American Civilization from Harvard University.[1]

Career
Second paragraph: Clarify that Eugene Lang College is part of The New School, and add a sentence about his five years there:

Veitch was named dean of the New School’s Eugene Lang College in 2004. During his four years as dean, he was credited with expanding the ranks of the college’s full-time faculty, and creating new partnerships with New York cultural institutions and civic engagement programs. Source: https://peterholslin.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/jonathan-veitch-dean-of-eugene-lang-college-will-step-down/ accessed 3 January 2018. He stepped down to become president of Occidental College in 2009.[4]

Occidental College
As has been done with Martin, Smith and Spencer, I propose the creation of a “Major Initiatives” section to give a fuller account of the Veitch presidency.

Major initiatives
After a two-year consultative process initiated by Veitch, Occidental approved a new five-year strategic plan in 2012 that laid out such goals as greater engagement with Los Angeles; curricular innovation; diversity and access; fostering a cosmopolitan campus culture; and improving students’ living and learning environment. Sources: http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2016/01/01/veitchs-vision-focuses-on-occidentals-urban-location/2881173; https://www.oxy.edu/magazine/summer-2012/rolling-deep accessed 3 January 2017

Los Angeles
Veitch has overseen the cultivation of partnerships with local institutions such as the Huntington Library, the Autry Museum of the West, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and regional theaters including A Noise Within. Sources: http://www.huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/content.aspx?id=15035; https://www.oxy.edu/news/native-american-expert-joins-faculty; https://www.oxy.edu/undergraduate-research-center/academic-year-opportunities/jet-propulsion-laboratory-internship; http://www.anoisewithin.org/thank-anw-summer-interns/ All accessed 3 January 2018. The 3rd LA Project, a series of conversations about the future of the city moderated by Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, was begun in 2015. https://archpaper.com/2015/05/the-implementation-game/#.VUpHYtpViko, accessed 3 January 2018. Occidental’s Institute for the Study of Los Angeles was launched in 2017. http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-me-los-angeles-scholarship-20170509-story.html, accessed 3 January 2018

Curriculum
During Veitch’s tenure, Occidental has announced new programs in computer science, http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2017/10/17/computer-science-newest-major-campus/2889536, accessed 3 January 2018; media arts and culture, http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2016/03/01/mac-ahva-split-in-unanimous-vote/2875846 Accessed 3 January 2018; music production, http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2017/10/31/new-music-production-emphasis-make-occidental-soloist-symphony-collegiate-music-programs/2890107 Accessed 3 January 2017; and Black studies. http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2016/11/01/american-studies-professors-introduce-black-studies-minor/2878426, accessed 3 January 2018. Already home to one of the world’s largest collections of Mexican birds, housed in the Moore Lab of Zoology, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-moore-lab-of-zoology, accessed 3 January 2018; Occidental acquired the Cosman Shell Collection of more than 170,000 specimens in 2015. http://abc7.com/science/widower-donates-170000-sea-shells-to-occidental-college/863985/, Accessed 3 January 2017. The two collections will form the basis of a new environmental science program. https://www.oxy.edu/magazine/summer-2015/life-aquatic, accessed 3 January 2018

Diversity and access
During Veitch’s tenure, Occidental has been identified as one of the country’s most economically diverse liberal arts colleges by the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/occidental-college, accessed 3 January 2018. In September 2017, Veitch announced the creation of the Barack Obama Scholars Program, a full-ride, four-year scholarship program aimed at exceptional students – with an emphasis on first-generation students, veterans, and community college transfers – who want to contribute to the public good. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/10/26/new-occidental-college-scholarships-honor-its-most-famous-student-barack-obama/?utm_term=.5aa3d1737520, Accessed 3 January 2018

Academic facilities
In June 2010, Veitch announced a $19 million renovation and expansion of Swan Hall, which houses faculty offices and classrooms. Source: http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2010/06/occidental-college-landmark-to-get-a-20-million-makeover/, accessed 3 January 2018. On the school's 125th anniversary in April 2012, Veitch announced that Occidental would be the recipient of a $5 million donation to renovate Johnson Hall, one of three original buildings on the campus. The result was the McKinnon Center for World Affairs, designed by architect Hagy Belzberg, that houses the college’s international, foreign language, and politics programs. Source: https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/mckinnon-center-global-affairs-occidental-college, accessed 3 January 2018. In April 2013, Veitch unveiled a 1-megawatt solar array on the Occidental campus, to generate a portion of the campus's energy supply. The innovative design of the array has been cited as a positive example for similar projects. Source: https://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/10/23/solar-panel-projects-at-mt-sac-occidental-inspired-years-of-protest-more-like-them-are-planned-across-socal/, accessed 3 January 2018. In April 2017, Veitch announced construction of a new aquatic center to replace Occidental’s 87-year-old Taylor Pool and the expansion of an existing tennis center. Source: https://www.theeastsiderla.com/2017/09/new-aquatic-center-to-replace-historic-taylor-pool-at-occidental-college/, accessed 3 January 2018

Fundraising
Fundraising has increased under Veitch. Occidental raised a record $29.3 million in gifts and new pledges in 2014-15. Source: https://www.oxy.edu/news/oxy-sets-new-fundraising-record, accessed 3 January 2018

Outreach
On his first anniversary at the college in August 2010, Veitch hosted a public forum for Los Angeles activists and local officials to discuss the city's environmental future. He also brought on Ella Turenne as the college's assistant dean of civic engagement. Together with other college presidents, Veitch has publicly supported the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. Source: https://www.pomona.edu/news/2016/11/21-college-university-presidents-call-us-uphold-and-continue-daca, accessed 3 January 2018. Partnering with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, he helped organize a March 2017 symposium that brought participants from more than 40 Southern California institutions to Occidental to consider how to respond to changes in immigration policy. Source: http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2017/03/09/occidental-hosts-southern-california-aiccu-symposium/2886185, accessed 3 January 2018

Personal life
Remove the last sentence -- President Veitch no longer lives on campus.

Thanks for your help with this.

Edgewood2048 (talk) 21:29, 3 January 2018 (UTC)Edgewood2048Edgewood2048 (talk) 21:29, 3 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Reply quotebox with inserted reviewer decisions and feedback 30-MAR-2018[edit]

Below you will see where text from your request has been quoted with individual advisory messages placed underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). See the enclosed notes for additional information about each request.SPINTENDO       22:03, 30 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request review

After graduation, he traveled across the country for a year, working on a dairy farm in Nebraska, on a Mississippi tugboat, and loading fish in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Red X Not approved.[note 1]
___________

Veitch was named dean of the New School’s Eugene Lang College in 2004. During his four years as dean, he was credited with expanding the ranks of the college’s full-time faculty, and creating new partnerships with New York cultural institutions and civic engagement programs.
exclamation mark  Clarification needed.[note 2]
___________

After a two-year consultative process initiated by Veitch, Occidental approved a new five-year strategic plan in 2012 that laid out such goals as greater engagement with Los Angeles; curricular innovation; diversity and access; fostering a cosmopolitan campus culture; and improving students’ living and learning environment.
Approved.
___________

Veitch has overseen the cultivation of partnerships with local institutions such as the Huntington Library, the Autry Museum of the West, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and regional theaters including A Noise Within.
exclamation mark  Clarification needed.[note 3]
___________

The 3rd LA Project, a series of conversations about the future of the city moderated by Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, was begun in 2015. Occidental’s Institute for the Study of Los Angeles was launched in 2017.
exclamation mark  Clarification needed.[note 4]
___________

During Veitch’s tenure, Occidental announced began new programs in computer science, media arts and culture, music production, and Black studies.
Approved.
___________

Already home to one of the world’s largest collections of Mexican birds, housed in the Moore Lab of Zoology, Occidental acquired the Cosman Shell Collection of more than 170,000 specimens in 2015. The two collections will form the basis of a new environmental science program.
Red X Not approved.[note 5]
___________

During Veitch’s tenure, Occidental has been identified as one of the country’s most economically diverse liberal arts colleges by the New York Times.
Red X Not approved.[note 6]
___________

In September 2017, Veitch announced the creation of the Barack Obama Scholars Program, a full-ride, four-year scholarship program aimed at exceptional students – with an emphasis on first-generation students, veterans, and community college transfers – who want to contribute to the public good.
Approved.
___________

In June 2010, Veitch announced a $19 million renovation and expansion of Swan Hall, which houses faculty offices and classrooms. The result was the McKinnon Center for World Affairs, designed by architect Hagy Belzberg, that houses the college’s international, foreign language, and politics programs. In April 2013, Veitch unveiled a 1-megawatt solar array on the Occidental campus, to generate a portion of the campus's energy supply. The innovative design of the array has been cited as a positive example for similar projects. In April 2017, Veitch announced construction of a new aquatic center to replace Occidental’s 87-year-old Taylor Pool and the expansion of an existing tennis center.
Red X Not approved.[note 7]
___________

Fundraising has increased under Veitch. Occidental raised a record $29.3 million in gifts and new pledges in 2014-15.
Red X Not approved.[note 8]
___________

Together with other college presidents, Veitch has publicly supported the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.
Approved.
___________

Partnering with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, he helped organize a March 2017 symposium that brought participants from more than 40 Southern California institutions to Occidental to consider how to respond to changes in immigration policy.
Approved.
___________

Remove the last sentence -- President Veitch no longer lives on campus.
 Unable to implement.[note 9]
___________

  1. ^ The subject derives notability primarily through their work in education and as an educator. Information on the subject's activities before becoming an educator may be seen by some as outside the topic area of the article.
  2. ^ This information was originally produced by the New School Free Press, but is no longer retrievable from them, making it difficult for a reader to check its integrity. Nevertheless, the information ought to be included in the article. Does this information exist anywhere else that you know of? Please advise.
  3. ^ With this particular proposal, it states that the subject has "overseen the cultivation of partnerships," etc. By definition, the position of educational administrator is to act as an overseer of an institution. Oversight is the byproduct of an administrative role. Accordingly, please clarify what this oversight entailed, so that the subject's role in it may be better understood.
  4. ^ It's unclear what this project is or how it relates to the subject.
  5. ^ The sentence as it's worded implies that these developments were tentative at the time the source wrote about them. An updated source would work best here.
  6. ^ This appears to be more appropriate for inclusion in the Occidental Wikipedia article. Additionally, the WP:RANKings of schools or other organizations can be problematic in other ways. (See also WP:NUMBER1.)
  7. ^ These large construction projects are almost always the result of many years--if not decades worth of planning--from many different people involved at many different levels. The amount of this work which may be directly attributable to the subject is debatable.
  8. ^ This claim ascribes to the subject an accomplishment which came about via team effort and not through the actions of one person alone (i.e., "Fundraising has increased under Veitch"). Fundraising is endemic to all educational facilities, and Occidental's fundraising apparatus was likely created, staffed, and operated long before the subject arrived on the scene. This fundraising did not occur "under" one person, but rather, was part and parcel of an already-instituted, mandatory team effort. The individual directly responsible for the operation of this apparatus was not the President of Occidental, but the Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Thus, fundraising as a function of the subject's job was accomplished largely by others in a coordinated fashion, an accomplishment which ought to be ascribed to Occidental collectively rather than to one individual.
  9. ^ This claim that the subject no longer lives on campus was tentatively approved, yet could not be implemented because the claim was unreferenced. In order to implement this change, please provide a reference at your earliest convenience.

Request edit[edit]

I'm User:Edgewood2048 and I work at Occidental College. As President Veitch has announced his decision to step down from the presidency in June 2020, it seems an appropriate time to propose some updates. I also am proposing some changes to the narrative structure of the Occidental College section in an attempt to provide a more logical flow. I continue to use the wiki bios of other liberal arts college presidents as a model; as before, I want to make sure that I follow WP:COI and gather as much consensus for these changes as possible. I'm posting my proposals here to solicit input.

Edit request

Changes/additions in bold.
Jonathan Veitch (born 1959) is an American college administrator, author and former professor. He is the president of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. He became president in July 2009, succeeding interim president Robert Skotheim.[1] In January 2019, Veitch announced his decision to step down as president and return to teaching in June 2020. Source: https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-occidental-college-prez-resign-20190127-story.html Veitch previously served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin and dean of The New School's Eugene Lang College.[2] He authored American Superrealism: Nathanael West and the Politics of Representation in the 1930s in 1997.[3]
Early Life and Education
Jonathan Veitch was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father, John Veitch, was the president of Columbia Pictures' worldwide productions, and his step-grandfather was actor Alan Ladd.[2] Veitch attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles [specified for disambiguation: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyola#Secondary_schools] before he received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in English and American Literature. He later received his doctoral degree in the History of American Civilization from Harvard University.[1]
Career
In 1993, Veitch became an associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin Press published his first book, American Superrealism: Nathanael West and the Politics of Representation in the 1930s, in 1997. That same year, Veitch moved to New York and became an associate professor at The New School, teaching courses in cultural history, American history and American film pertaining to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.[4] Veitch was named Dean of the New School’s Eugene Lang College in 2004. During his four years as dean, he was credited with helping to expand Lang’s student body and faculty and connecting the college with arts and social service organizations. Source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jan-31-me-oxy31-story.html He stepped down to become president of Occidental College in 2009.[4]
Occidental College
Veitch is the first president of Occidental College to be a native Angeleno, having been born in Los Angeles. He succeeded Robert Skotheim as the fifteenth president of the college on June 30, 2009.[2][5] After a two-year consultative process initiated by Veitch, Occidental approved a new five-year strategic plan in 2012 that laid out such goals as greater engagement with Los Angeles; curricular innovation; and fostering a cosmopolitan campus culture. Occidental subsequently worked to build partnerships with local cultural institutions such as the Getty Center, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. Source: https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-occidental-college-prez-resign-20190127-story.html Greater engagement with Los Angeles also led to the creation of the 3rd LA Project, a free-to-the-public event series that draws on a wide range of experts, activists and politicians to explore the city’s continuing evolution. Sources: http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2015/02/welcome_to_christopher_hawthor.php https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2016/04/21/lamcast-the-right-to-the-city/
During Veitch’s tenure, Occidental has announced new programs in computer science, new source: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-occidental-computer-science-20180313-story.html; media arts and culture, http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2016/03/01/mac-ahva-split-in-unanimous-vote/2875846 Accessed 3 January 2018; music production, http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2017/10/31/new-music-production-emphasis-make-occidental-soloist-symphony-collegiate-music-programs/2890107 Accessed 3 January 2017; and Black studies. http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2016/11/01/american-studies-professors-introduce-black-studies-minor/2878426, accessed 3 January 2018.
In September 2017, Veitch announced the creation of the Barack Obama Scholars Program, a full-ride, four-year scholarship program aimed at exceptional students – with an emphasis on first-generation students, veterans, and community college transfers – who want to contribute to the public good. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/10/26/new-occidental-college-scholarships-honor-its-most-famous-student-barack-obama/?utm_term=.5aa3d1737520, Accessed 3 January 2018
During Veitch’s presidency, Occidental completed several major capital projects, including a $19 million renovation and expansion of Swan Hall, which houses faculty offices and classrooms, and an $11.5 million renovation of Johnson Hall to create the McKinnon Center for World Affairs that houses the college’s international, foreign language, and politics programs. Sources: https://www.theoccidentalnews.com/news/2016/01/01/swan-hall-certified-in-gold-level-environmental-efficiency/2883215, https://universitybusiness.com/mckinnon-center-for-global-affairs-at-occidental-college/?highlight=Occidental%20College, accessed 6 September 2019. In April 2013, Veitch unveiled a 1-megawatt solar array on the Occidental campus, to generate a portion of the campus's energy supply. Source: https://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/10/23/solar-panel-projects-at-mt-sac-occidental-inspired-years-of-protest-more-like-them-are-planned-across-socal/, accessed 3 January 2018.
Fundraising and the college’s endowment have grown since 2009, the result of more active outreach to alumni. Source: https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-occidental-college-prez-resign-20190127-story.html Applications also have increased, a result attributed in part to the visibility created by Occidental alumnus Barack Obama’s election as U.S. president in 2009. [Sources: https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-occidental-college-prez-resign-20190127-story.html, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-27-me-oxy27-story.html
Veitch has publicly supported the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. Source: https://www.pomona.edu/news/2016/11/21-college-university-presidents-call-us-uphold-and-continue-daca, accessed 3 January 2018. Working with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, he helped organize a March 2017 symposium that brought participants from more than 40 Southern California institutions to Occidental to consider how to respond to changes in immigration policy. Source: http://www.theoccidentalweekly.com/news/2017/03/09/occidental-hosts-southern-california-aiccu-symposium/2886185, accessed 3 January 2018
Veitch and the college were criticized in 2013 over the handling of the Occidental College sexual assault controversy. After a three-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded in June 2016 that, except in the case of lack of promptness in three cases, Occidental was in compliance with Title IX. Sources: https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-occidental-sex-assault-20160609-snap-story.html https://www.oxy.edu/sites/default/files/assets/title_IX/OCR_resolution_letter_pdf.PDF
The college was again criticized in 2015 for not having done enough to address issues of racial injustice on campus. Occidental subsequently launched its Black studies major, hired a vice president for diversity and inclusion, and boosted funding for diversity programs. Source: https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-occidental-college-prez-resign-20190127-story.html
Personal life
Veitch married Sarah Ann Baxter Kersh, the former director of international licensing and distribution for Calvin Klein, in December 1992. He lives in the Wallis Annenberg President’s House with his wife and their three children. [Delete this reference, as he moved off campus. Source: https://www.theoccidentalnews.com/news/2017/10/03/8-years-veitch-relocates-off-campus-residence/2889071

Thanks for your help with this. Edgewood2048 (talk) 00:08, 25 January 2020 (UTC)Edgewood20148[reply]

  • @Jkfp2004: Thoughts? You and I laid a lot of the groundwork for this article pbp 02:18, 25 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

There are some of these changes that I'm not a big fan of. They seem to be more about Occidental than Vietch himself. pbp 15:26, 25 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]