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

CSUN to Honor Its Distinguished Alumni

The awards will be presented at a special dinner Saturday, April 17, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.

The event will honor the four alums for achieving a high level of success in their chosen fields of endeavor, thus bringing distinction to themselves, their community and their alma mater.

"This is the premier annual event of the Alumni Association," said Allan Oberman, president of the 120,000-member organization. "We expect the event will be sold out as we honor four outstanding alums."

The celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Sheraton's scenic Roof Garden overlooking the Hollywood Hills.

Those being honored are:

• Carol Vaness, internationally recognized opera star with the Metropolitan Opera.

• Frank del Olmo, the Pulitzer Prize winning associate editor of the Los Angeles Times.

• Dirk Gates, president and CEO of Xircom, a Thousand Oaks- based computer company, and ethernet computer connectivity pioneer.

• Yvonne Chan, educational leader and innovator of charter school reform and programming.

The evening also will mark include celebrations of CSUN's 40th anniversary and a special presentation to Blenda J. Wilson, who announced earlier this year that she was stepping down as Northridge's president to head a newly formed non-profit education agency in the New England area.

"We will honor the great leadership of President Wilson as she moves on to other challenges," said D.G. "Gray" Mounger, director of CSUN's alumni relations. "But that's all I'll say right now. She generally doesn't like to be surprised, but in this case, we have a surprise for her that evening. She has been so supportive of the Alumni Association and it wants to thank her in a special way."

Tickets for the event are $60 per person, or $550 for a table of 10.

For more information on the honorees, the program or to purchase tickets, call the Cal State Northridge Office of Alumni Relations, (818) 677-2137.