Contact: George Morten,
(805) 654-4950 or
Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Gary Hart to Address Ventura Campus Commencement

More than 300 students will receive their diplomas on Friday, May 28, at the campus' sixth annual graduation ceremony, only the second to be held at the new CSU Channel Islands site in Camarillo.

The ceremony is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at the future site of California State University, Channel Islands, 1878 S. Lewis Rd. in Camarillo.

In addition to the speech by Hart, 46 students will be recognized for completing their degrees with honors, earning GPAs of 3.5 to 4.0. Of those 46, 16 students will be graduating Summa Cum Laude, 13 Magna Cum Laude and 17 Cum Laude.

CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson will confer the master's and bachelor's degrees after the presentation of degree recipients by Provost Louanne Kennedy.

The Robert Lagomarsino award will be given at the ceremony to an individual who has uniquely contributed to higher education in the county and state. The name of the recipient will be announced at the ceremony.

Hart was the first major appointment made in the Gray Davis Administration, and he serves as Gov. Davis' principal education adviser. Prior to his current position, Hart was founder and co- director of the California State University Institute for Education Reform, which focuses on education policy work in the fields of teacher recruitment and training, effective classrooms practices and charter schools.

Before creating the institute, Hart was a member of the California State Legislature for 20 years representing Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. He served as chair of the Senate Education Committee for 12 years and authored important legislation concerning charter schools, staff development, class size reduction, rigorous academic standards and higher education bond measures.

The Ventura Campus offers a broad range of courses designed to accommodate the diverse needs of its students. Undergraduate degrees will be awarded in business administration, child development, English, history, liberal studies, nursing, psychology and sociology as well as credential programs. Master's degrees will awarded in the fields of business administration, counseling, early childhood education, education administration and public administration.

CSUN's Ventura Campus will be moving to CSU Channel Islands this summer and taking on a new name - CSU Northridge at Channel Islands.

The Ventura Campus has been located adjacent to the 101 Freeway on Alessandro Drive in Ventura for the past 10 years. Overcrowding this year forced the campus to rent additional space at nearby Ventura High School and Anacapa Middle School.

Classes at CSU Northridge at Channel Islands will begin in the fall.

For more information, call (805) 654-4575.

Cal State Northridge has about 27,000 full- and part-time students, offering 48 bachelor's and 39 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, CSUN is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.