CSU, Dominguez Hills Graduation Ceremony for Master’s Degree Candidates to be Held May 22

May 9, 2008 - PRLog -- (Carson, CA) – State Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-55th District) will give the keynote speech at the 2008 California State University, Dominguez Hills Graduate Commencement Ceremony taking place at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22, in the Home Depot Center’s Tennis Stadium on campus.

In addition that evening, university president Mildred García will confer an honorary Doctor of Humane Letter on Mónica Lozano, publisher of La Opinión newspaper.

Furutani was elected to the California Assembly in a special election in February, taking over the seat left vacant by now Congresswoman Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach). The 55th Assembly District includes Carson, Wilmington, Harbor City, Signal Hill, Lakewood and portions of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

A long-time proponent of education, Furutani became the first Asian American elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education in 1987. He was re-elected in 1991 and served as board president that year. In 1999, he was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees and served three consecutive terms. The fourth-generation Japanese American and native Southern Californian is the only person to have ever been elected and re-elected to both boards.

Furutani sits on a number of Assembly committees, including the Select Committee on Career Technical Education and Workforce Development, the Human Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee.

“We are pleased that Assemblyman Furutani will be our keynote speaker at the graduate commencement ceremony,” said David Gamboa, CSUDH director of government and community relations. “Furutani is a great friend to CSU Dominguez Hills and understands that economic prosperity in our region relies on a continuous stream of well-educated professionals and leaders entering the workforce.”

In 2004, Mónica Lozano was named publisher of La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States and the second most-read newspaper in the Los Angeles area. The granddaughter of the newspaper’s founder, Ignacio Lozano, Lozano climbed the ranks of the newspaper, serving as managing editor, associate publisher, editor and president before becoming publisher and CEO. She also currently serves as the senior vice president of Impremedia, LLC, the parent company of La Opinión.

Since Lozano joined the paper, La Opinión has more than doubled its circulation, increased its online presence, and broadened its focus to become a paper reflective of the diverse Hispanic community living in the United States.

Lozano also has become one of the most influential women leaders in the Hispanic community, using her position to empower Latinos on important issues, such as healthcare and education. She serves on many boards of directors, including the California Healthcare Foundation, the Weingart Foundation, the Walt Disney Company and Bank of America Corporation. She is current chair of the National Council of La Raza Board of Directors. Since 1990 she has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Southern California, and in 2001, Gov. Gray Davis appointed Lozano to the University of California Board of Regents through 2013.

“We are delighted to award an honorary degree to Mónica Lozano for her years of service to the region,” said CSUDH President García, “and pleased that our graduates will have the opportunity to learn more about her leadership as the publisher of La Opinión and her commitment to education and the Hispanic community across the nation.”

Located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, CSU Dominguez Hills is considered by US News and World Report to be one of the most diverse campuses on the West Coast. With a student population of 12,000, no one ethnicity is in the majority; the student make-up is 39.7% Hispanic, 31.1 African American, 18.2 white, 10.6 Asian, and .04 American Indian.

CSU Dominguez Hills offers 45 bachelor degrees and 21 master’s degrees in its six colleges: College of Education, College of Business Administration and Public Policy, College of Arts and Humanities, College of Health and Human Services, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, and College of Extended and International Education. It is recognized for its excellence in teacher education, business administration, nursing, psychology and digital media arts.  For more information, visit http://www.csudh.edu.

The university’s Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will take place at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 23, at the Home Depot Center Soccer Stadium. At that ceremony, radio and television talk show host Tavis Smiley will give the keynote address.  He will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

Information about the ceremonies is available at http://www.csudh.edu/commencement.

Website: www.csudh.edu