The university also will award an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree to Disney CEO Michael D. Eisner for his philanthropic leadership and his personal dedication to helping the community's most vulnerable children.

A record 8,847 students -- about 7,289 bachelor's and 1,558 master's degrees candidates in a total of 61 fields -- are eligible to take part in the series of ceremonies that begin the evening of Tuesday, May 31.

"Commencement is an exciting time at Cal State Northridge," said CSUN President Jolene Koester. "It gives us an opportunity to celebrate all that our graduates have accomplished and the wonderful possibilities that await them in the future. It is also a time for us to recognize the spouses, parents, family and friends who have been there along the way, supporting and sacrificing as our students have worked diligently to complete their education. We invite the community to join us as we honor their efforts and those of our graduates."

The graduation celebration begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, with the Honors Convocation at the University Club at the southeast corner of the campus near Nordhoff Street and Zelzah Avenue.

This year's convocation speaker is theatre alumnus Terry Tamminen, cabinet secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Tamminen, who serves as chief liaison between the governor and the major state agency chiefs, attended CSUN in 1973.

Prior to his appointment by Schwarzenegger, Tamminen worked with the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica. He was founder and director of Santa Monica Baykeeper and co-founded Waterkeeper programs in San Diego, Orange County, Ventura and Santa Barbara.

The formal commencement ceremonies are as follows:

• The ceremony for the College of Business and Economics is at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1, on the Oviatt Library Lawn in the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. There is no speaker scheduled.

• Alumnus Robert S. Behl, CEO and chairman of the board of Percutaneous Systems, Inc. (PercSys), a biomedical company, will speak at the College of Engineering and Computer Science's ceremony at 4 p.m. on June 1 at the University Club.

  Behl holds 21 U.S. patents for medical devices. Prior to establishing PercSys, he founded RadioTherapeutics Corp., InnerDyne Medical and led a refocus, refinance and turn-around effort at Menlo Care, Inc.

• No speaker is scheduled for the College of Humanities ceremony, which takes place at 6:30 p.m. on the Oviatt Library Lawn on June 1.

• The ceremony for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will take place at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 2, on the Oviatt Library Lawn. There is no speaker scheduled.

• Alumnus Michael A. Lewinski, scientific director of infectious diseases at Quest Diagnostics' Nichols Institute, a world leader in highly specialized laboratory testing, will give the commencement address at the College of Science and Mathematics' ceremony at 4 p.m. on June 2 at the University Club.

• Congressman Brad Sherman will speak at the College of Arts, Media, and Communication's ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on June 2 on the Oviatt Library Lawn. Sherman, a former member of California's Board of Equalization, serves in the U.S. Congress as the representative of the 27th District, which includes the San Fernando Valley. He is a former C.P.A. who went on to get a law degree from Harvard.

• The ceremony for the College of Health and Human Development will take place at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 3 on the Oviatt Library Lawn. No speaker is scheduled. The college is honoring two alumni: Rick Katz (Kinesiology '85), president of Adient Health, which operates physical therapy clinics and hospital facilities in California, Colorado, Arizona, Louisiana and Alaska; and Denise Vega Middleton (Communication Disorders and Sciences '86), president and owner of Miller & Standel Speech Pathology Services in Sherman Oaks.

• There will be no speaker at the Michael D. Eisner College of Education's ceremony at 4 p.m. on June 3 at the University Club. But Michael D. Eisner will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree during the ceremony.

  The college was named in Eisner's honor in 2003 after The Eisner Foundation, created by Eisner and his wife, Jane, gave Northridge $7 million for the establishment of the Center for Teaching and Learning, which provides national leadership in preparing teachers to support the educational and emotional needs of all children in the classroom.