A record 9,196 of students--about 7,505 bachelor's and 1,660 master's degree candidates in a total of 61 fields--are eligible to take part in the ceremonies that begin the evening of Tuesday, May 30.

"Commencement is a momentous occasion for our students and their loved ones, and an exciting time at Cal State Northridge," said CSUN President Jolene Koester. "It's an opportunity to celebrate all that our graduates have accomplished and the wonderful possibilities that lie in their futures. It is a time to recognize all those who have helped them along the way--from friends and family members to the university faculty and staff. We invite the community to join us as we honor their efforts and achievements."

The graduation celebration begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, with the Honors Convocation at the University Club at the southeast corner of the campus near Nordhoff Street and Zelzah Avenue. More than 800 undergraduate and 450 graduate students have been invited to participate.

This year's convocation speaker is California State University Chancellor Charles Reed. Reed is the chief executive officer of the country's largest senior system of public higher education. He provides leadership to 44,000 faculty and staff and more than 400,000 students on 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers. The CSU, which spans the entire state of California, has an annual budget of more than $5 billion. Before taking the helm of the CSU in 1998, he served as chancellor of the State University System of Florida and was chief of staff to the governor of Florida from 1984-1985.

The formal commencement ceremonies are as follows:

• There is no speaker scheduled for the College of Arts, Media, and Communication's commencement ceremony at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31, on the Oviatt Lawn in the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St.
• CSUN professor emeritus of physics John K. Lawrence will address the College of Science and Mathematics at 4 p.m. on May 31 at the University Club. Lawrence taught at Northridge for 25 years before retiring in 1991, serving as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 1976 to 1980. An internationally respected researcher, Lawrence has served as principal or co-investigator on more than a dozen National Science Foundation or NASA grants for projects involving solar physics. He is currently studying the effects of the solar wind on the Earth's magnetic field.
• There is no formal speaker for the College of Health and Human Development's commencement ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on May 31 on the Oviatt Lawn. The college will be honoring Jim Sherman (B.S. in Health Administration, 1984, and M.S. in Health Administration, 1987), president and CEO of Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. Los Robles is a 265-bed acute care facility dedicated to serving the residents of Ventura County, the Greater Conejo Valley and its surrounding communities.
• The College of Business and Economics will not have a formal speaker at its ceremony at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 1, on the Oviatt Lawn. Congressman Brad Sherman will give the welcome. 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.
• Alumnus Sheldon Malchicoff (B.S in Electrical Engineering, 1978), chairman and CEO of Data Exchange Corp. (DEX), will give the commencement address at the College of Engineering and Computer Science's ceremony at 4 p.m. on June 1 at the University Club. DEX provides global supply chain solutions, specializing in logistical repair and replacement services for high tech industries, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
• Los Angeles Superior Court Judge D. Zeke Zeidler (B.A. in English, 1987) will address the graduates at the College of Humanities' ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on June 1 on the lawn of the Oviatt Library. Zeidler, a former president of CSUN's Associated Students, was elected to the superior court bench in 2004. Prior to that, he served as Superior Court Referee for six years, presiding over cases involving child abuse and neglect. Before becoming a bench office, Zeidler was an attorney primarily representing abused and neglected children. He was also twice elected to the Redondo Beach School Board.
• The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will not have a formal speaker at its ceremony at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 2, on the Oviatt Lawn. Congressman Brad Sherman will give the welcome.
• There is no speaker for the Michael D. Eisner College of Education's commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. on June 2 at the University Club.