Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Choral Director, Business Leaders, Educators
To Address Cal State Northridge Graduates

• Albert McNeil, founder and director of the internationally acclaimed Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, will speak at the College of Arts, Media, and Communication's ceremony at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 28, on the Oviatt Library Lawn in the center of the campus.

  McNeil, who will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at the ceremony, founded the Jubilee Singers more than 35 years ago while teaching in Los Angeles. The ensemble is dedicated to upholding a choral tradition of excellence with the presentation of the concert spiritual and the contributions of African American composers.

• Kenneth E. Nwabueze, founder and CEO of SageMetrics and a CSUN alum, will speak at the College of Engineering and Computer Science's ceremony at 4 p.m. on May 28 at the University Club. Also speaking during the ceremony is student Elizabeth Gutierrez, who is getting her degree in manufacturing systems engineering.

  SageMetrics is a leading outsourced business intelligence provider. Nwabueze was appointed last year by the United Nations to serve on its Millennium Technology Transfer Council and was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

• Dr. Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment, will give the commencement address for the College of Health and Human Development at 6:30 p.m. on May 28 on the Oviatt Library Lawn. During the ceremony, an honorary Doctor of Human Letters will be awarded to tax attorney and philanthropist Philip S. Magaram, founder of CSUN's Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics.

  The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation established in 1996 to address the health needs of Californians. Prior to joining the Endowment, Ross served as director of the Health and Human Services Agency in San Diego County.

• There is no speaker scheduled for the College of Business and Economics' ceremony at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 29, on the Oviatt Library Lawn.

• Biologist C. Richard Tracy will speak at the College of Science and Mathematics' commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. on May 29 at the University Club.

  Tracy is the director of Biological Resources Research Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research involves the interactions between organisms and their environments.

• Yvonne Chan, principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center and a CSUN alum, will address the College of Humanities during its ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on May 29 on the Oviatt Library Lawn.

  Chan is considered a leader in the national charter school movement. Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, located in Pacoima, was one of the first charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

• Graduating senior Fortuna Ippoliti, who getting her degree in sociology and is field deputy for L.A. Councilman Jack Weiss, will speak at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences' ceremony at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 30, on the Oviatt Library Lawn.

• CSUN educational psychology professor Charles Hanson will give the commencement address for the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at 4 p.m. on May 30 at the University Club.

  Hanson was recently honored by the Education Trust, a non-profit educational organization based in Washington D.C., for his new school counselor program which trains counselors to take a leadership role in their schools and to serve as advocates for the academic success of their students.

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