California State University, Northridge

May 13, 1996

Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
Director of News and Information,
(818) 885-2130

Community Leaders Address CSUN Grads

An estimated 6,327 students are candidates receive their diplomas -- approximately 5,318 bachelors and 1,037 masters in a total of 50 fields -- in a series of ceremonies that begin the evening of May 28.

"I am tremendously proud of our graduates this year," said CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson. "I wish everyone in Los Angeles could spend just ten minutes meeting and talking our students. It would renew their faith in young people and give them a fresh view of older students who have braved the anxieties of returning to the classroom to complete their degrees, retool, or renew their skills. These grads are creative, intelligent, competent and caring."

The graduation celebration begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, with the Honors Convocation. Cal State Northridge professor Ron Davis will deliver the keynote address. Davis has received national recognition for his work on the history of Natchez, Miss., the cultural and commercial center of the Old South.

The formal commencement ceremonies are as follows:

• Former KNBC anchor Frank H. Cruz will speak at the School of Humanities' commencement ceremony at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, on the Oviatt Lawn. Cruz left KNBC in 1985 to become vice president and general manager of KVEA-TV Channel 52. He later served as president and executive director of the Los Angeles Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture and then formed his own insurance company, the first such Latino-owned company licensed to do business in 30 states.
• Kathleen Virga, a Cal State Northridge alum and now staff engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company, will speak at the School of Engineering and Computer Science's ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on May 29 at the University Club.
• Ralph Vicero is the keynote speaker for the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences' ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on the Oviatt Lawn on May 29. Vicero is retiring after 27 years at the university, the last six as dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
• Los Angeles Times television critic and columnist Howard Rosenberg will address graduates of the School of Communication, Health and Human Services at 8 a.m. on May 30 on the Oviatt Lawn. In 1985, Rosenberg won the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in American journalism, for distinguished criticism.
• Carolyn R. Burch, CSUN alum and principal of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, will give the keynote address at 11 a.m. on May 30 at the University Club for the School of Education. Poly High was one of the first four high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District to become a LEARN site.
• Visual artist and community activist Judith Francisca Baca will speak to graduates of the School of the Arts at 4:30 p.m. on May 30 at the University Club Baca, a CSUN alum, is best know for her large scale public murals, including the "Great Wall of Los Angeles."
• Ron Thigpenn, a CSUN alum and executive vice president and chief operating officer of Family Savings Bank, will address graduates of the School of Business Administration and Economics at 8 a.m. on May 31 on the Oviatt Lawn. Family Savings Bank is the largest bank in California owned by African Americans.
• Cecily M. Grzywacz, a CSUN alum and principal staff research scientist for the Getty Conservation Institute, will speak at the School of Science and Mathematics' commencement ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on May 31 at the University Club.