Former Labor Secretary, NBC Newscaster to Address CSUF Class of 2008
NASA Astronaut and Alumna Tracy Caldwell to Receive Honorary Doctorate
Author Robert B. Reich, secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton, and NBC4's Orange County Bureau Chief Vikki Vargas will address Cal State Fullerton's Class of 2008 as the keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies May 17 and 18.
Vargas will step to the podium Saturday, May 17, while Reich is the speaker for Sunday, May 18. Ceremonies begin at 8 a.m. both days on the sports fields north of Titan Gym.
An honorary doctorate will be awarded to Cal State Fullerton alumna and NASA astronaut Tracy E. Caldwell (B. S. chemistry '93), who soared into space Aug. 8, 2007, aboard the Endeavor for the 119th space shuttle flight. Caldwell earned a doctorate in physical chemistry at UC Davis. As an undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton, she told her faculty adviser: "I want to be an astronaut" and was selected by NASA in 1998.
She has served in several capacities, including as mission specialist, a participant in the testing and integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for the International Space Station; as crew support astronaut for the 5th ISS expedition crew; and as ISS spacecraft communicator inside Mission Control.
Reich, professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, has authored 11 books, including "The Work of Nations," "The Future of Success" and most recently, "Supercapitalism: Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life." Reich provides weekly commentaries for public radio's "Marketplace," and his articles have appeared in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He is co-founding editor of American Prospect magazine.
While serving as Clinton's secretary of labor, Reich implemented the Family and Medical Leave Act, headed a successful effort to raise the minimum wage, secured worker's pensions, and launched job-training programs and school-to-work initiatives. He led a national fight against sweatshops in the United States and illegal child labor throughout the world. Under his leadership, the Department of Labor won more than 30 awards for innovation.
Reich has been a faculty member at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Brandeis University. He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, his master's from Oxford University - where he was a Rhodes Scholar - and his juris doctorate from Yale Law School.
Cal State Fullerton alumna Vargas (B.A. communications '81) joined NBC4 in July 1982, as a general assignment reporter. Since then, she has covered a wide range of national and international stories, including the opening of the Richard Nixon Library in 1990 and the
2000 Republication National Convention. In 1996, Vargas was the first reporter to interview Kevin Green, who was released from prison after serving 17 years for a murder he did not commit.
Her reporting has earned her several awards and honors, including recognition from the Orange County Press Club and the State Bar Association, as well as the Radio&Television News Association of Southern California's Golden Mike Award.
On campus, Vargas has served on the advisory board of the Guarding Scholars program and is honorary chair of the 50th anniversary planning committee. In addition, she serves on the board of directors for the Orangewood Children's Foundation and is a volunteer with AIDS Walk Orange County.
Following universitywide ceremonies the morning of May 17 and 18, college and department exercises will be held at various locations throughout campus. The annual honors convocation is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday, May 16, in the Meng Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center on campus.
Additional details available online: http://www.fullerton.edu/commencement
Media Parking:
News media covering commencement ceremonies are advised to enter the campus at West Campus Drive off State College Boulevard for parking in the lot adjacent to the Golleher Alumni House.
Map:
http://www.fullerton.edu/campusmap
Media Contacts:
Pamela McLaren, Public Affairs, 657-278-4852 or pmclaren@fullerton.edu
Paula Selleck, Public Affairs, 657-278-4856 or pselleck@fullerton.edu
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