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ABC News Correspondent, Software Company Co-Founder
Among Trailblazers To Address Graduating CSUN Students

The graduation celebration will begin the evening of Friday, May 26, with ceremonies at CSUN's new Channel Islands campus and continue with ceremonies of the individual colleges daily through Friday, June 2.

An estimated 6,686 CSUN students are expected to receive about 5,686 bachelor degrees and 1,000 master degrees in some 50 fields. An Honors Convocation will recognize about 1,100 students for scholastic or significant personal achievement at CSUN, said Jamie G. Rigney, student activities coordinator at CSUN. Between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors typically come to CSUN for the ceremonies, she added.

Interim CSUN President Louanne Kennedy called commencement "the most important event in the academic year because it provides the university with an opportunity to come together as a community and to celebrate the achievements and hard work of our graduating students. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and distinguished guests from the community will honor our newest graduates and the friends and families who supported them in this endeavor."

"This is the time of year that reminds me most of the importance of our work at Cal State Northridge and I always look forward to taking part in this memorable and time-honored event," added Kennedy.

The speaker at this year's Honors Convocation will be Judy Muller, an ABC News correspondent who has won awards for her coverage of the Los Angeles riots and the O.J. Simpson case. Los Angeles Times television critic

Howard Rosenberg recently praised Muller as "one of the best, most honest journalists in the business" and called her recently published memoir, "Now This," "a very, very funny book."

The Honors Convocation ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 30 on the Oviatt Lawn at the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

The other formal commencement ceremonies are scheduled as follows:

Debra S. Farar,, a member of the Board of Trustees of California State University, and a CSUN alumnus, will address graduates of CSUN's Channel Islands campus at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 26 at the South Quad of the campus, at One University Drive at the Channel Islands in Camarillo. Kennedy will hand out diplomas.

Farar was senior advisor for education policy to California Governor Gray Davis between 1995 and 1998 during his term as lieutenant governor. She was appointed to the CSU Board of Trustees in 1999. Farar is a member of the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education with a private practice as an educational consultant.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, will address graduates of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, on the Oviatt Lawn.

Yaroslavsky has been in public office since 1975, when he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council. He was re-elected to that office five times before being elected to the County Board of Supervisors in 1994. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and as a member of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.

Ronald G. Blom, a geologist specializing in applications of space technology at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a CSUN alumnus, will address graduates of the College of Science and Mathematics at 4 p.m. on May 31 at the University Club at Nordhoff Street and Zelzah Avenue.

Blom gained international renown as an expedition scientist and navigator credited with co-discovering the lost city of Ubar, an ancient outpost where camel caravans assembled before transporting frankincense across the Arabian Desert.

Dennis McCarthy, award-winning Daily News columnist and CSUN alumnus, will speak to graduates of the College of Health and Human Development at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on the Oviatt Lawn.

A former police reporter, McCarthy has won numerous awards for his four-day-a week column focusing on average people who do exceptional things. He has been named "Best Columnist in California" four times by the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Larry Gould, a member of the California State University Board of Trustees, will attend ceremonies for the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Health and Human Development.

Felix Gutierrez, senior vice president and executive director of the Freedom Foundation, will give the commencement address to the graduates of the College of Arts, Media and Communication at 8 a.m., Thursday, June 1, on the Oviatt Lawn.

A former Associated Press reporter, Gutierrez was a CSUN journalism professor and a dean at the University of Southern California before joining the San Francisco-based Freedom Forum, a non-partisan international foundation dedicated to a free press and free speech. He has written four books and more than 45 scholarly articles or book chapters, mostly on racial and technological diversity and the media.

Jon V. Ferrara, co-founder of Goldmine Software Corp. and a CSUN alumnus, will address graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at 4 p.m. Thursday at the University Club.

The privately held Colorado Springs, Colorado-based company, founded in 1989, is a leading provider of software support for sales, marketing and customer support for small and mid-sized businesses. The Los Angeles Business Journal singled it out as one of the "Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies" for the past two years.

Xavier Becerra, (D-California) Congressman of the 30th District, will be the featured speaker at the College of Humanities graduation at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on the Oviatt Lawn.

A graduate of Stanford Law School, Becerra worked in a legal services office representing the mentally ill and was a Deputy California Attorney General before being elected to the California Legislature. He was elected to Congress in 1992 and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittee on Trade. He's also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The College of Business Administration and Economics will not have a formal commencement speaker. Its ceremony will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 2, on the Oviatt Lawn. Farar will attend the ceremony.

Michael E. Spagna, associate professor of special education at CSUN, will speak to graduates of the College of Education at 4 p.m. Friday at the University Club. An expert in learning disabilities and dyslexia, Spagna has received CSUN's prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award. He has provided free consultations to hundreds of families seeking advice and referrals for children with disabilities.