CSUN students and faculty spent the past two months working with students at Community Charter Middle School and four elementary schools in the city of San Fernando on projects that showcase Chavez's life and accomplishments.

Their efforts will be on display Sunday afternoon and include an art and photography display, student essays and a play based on oral histories collected by the students from farm workers who worked with Chavez.

The Chavez celebration will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center of the University Student Union on the east side of the campus at Zelzah Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public. Parking is available in Lot G4 off Zelzah Avenue and is free.

The collaboration between CSUN and the middle and elementary schools was funded by a $64,000 grant from the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism (GO SERV) through the university's Center for Community Service-Learning.

"Our community is enriched by cooperative efforts that bring the Cesar Chavez legacy to life," said Maureen Rubin, the center's director.

Cesar Chavez was the founder and president of the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. For nearly 40 years, the union has represented men and women who worked in the agricultural fields, orchards and vineyards of America. Chavez is credited with drawing attention to such issues as racism and economic discrimination that affected the farm workers. He died in 1993.