More Than 300 Students Expected to Receive Diplomas at Ceremony in Camarillo

More than 300 students will receive diplomas Friday, May 28, at the campus' sixth annual graduation ceremony, and only the second to be held at the new CSU Channel Islands site in Camarillo.

The ceremony is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at the future site of California State University, Channel Islands, 1878 S. Lewis Rd. in Camarillo.

In addition to Hart's speech, 46 students will be recognized for completing their degrees with honors, earning GPAs of 3.5 to 4.0. Of those, 16 students will be graduating summa cum laude, 13 magna cum laude and 17 cum laude.

CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson will confer the master's and bachelor's degrees after the presentation of degree recipients by Provost Louanne Kennedy. Kennedy will become CSUN's interim president in June when Wilson leaves to head a New England education foundation.

Hart, the first major appointment of Gov. Gray Davis' new administration, serves as Davis' principal education adviser. Previously, Hart was founder and co-director of the Cal State system's Institute for Education Reform, which focuses on education policy work in the fields of teacher recruitment and training, effective classroom practices and charter schools.

Before that, Hart was a member of the state Legislature for 20 years representing Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. He served as chair of the state Senate Education Committee for 12 years and authored important legislation on charter schools, staff development, class size reduction, rigorous academic standards and higher education bond measures.

CSUN's Ventura Campus will be moving to the CSU Channel Islands site in Camarillo this summer and taking on a new name-CSU Northridge at Channel Islands. Classes at CSU Northridge at Channel Islands will begin in the fall, after the relocation from the CSUN's prior location of many years in Ventura.

CSU Northridge at Channel Islands offers a broad range of courses designed to accommodate the diverse needs of its students. Undergraduate degrees will be awarded in business administration, child development, English, history, liberal studies, nursing, psychology and sociology, as well as credential programs.

Master's degrees will awarded in the fields of business administration, counseling, early childhood education, education administration and public administration.

-Carmen Ramos Chandler