Tovar, recipient of the 2000 Cal State Northridge Distinguished Alumni Award, was elected president at the association's annual meeting in June.

"It's appropriate at this time in our history to have someone of Irene's prominence leading our organization," said D. G. "Gray" Mounger, executive director of the alumni association. "She is somebody who has made a great impact in everything she has been involved in. We hope she leaves her mark on us as well."

Tovar said she was honored to be selected the association's new president. She said one of her goals in her new role was to encourage all of the university's graduates to join the alumni association and "show their appreciation for all that this campus has given to us, and give back to it."

Tovar said going to Northridge made an impact on her life.

"I always tell people that the education I received at CSUN has made all the difference in my life, both professionally and personally," she said. "It made an impact on my ability to do the kinds of things I've wanted to do with my life. And as a kid from a low-income community, it gave me the ability to improve the quality of my life."

Tovar, who graduated from CSUN with a bachelor's degree in social science in 1969, helped establish the Latin American Civic Association while she was a student at the university. LACA oversees Head Start schools throughout the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. The agency also offers affordable housing to low-income residents of the San Fernando Valley.

Tovar has served as vice president and president of the State Personnel Board, vice president and president of the Los Angeles City Civil Service Commission and founded San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services.

For more information about CSUN's Alumni Association, call (818) 677-2137 or visit its web site at http://www.csunalumni.com/.

California State University, Northridge has more than 31,500 full- and part-time students and offers 59 bachelor's and 41 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."