Two Distinguished Alumni to Speak at Commencement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2001
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Two Distinguished Alumni to Speak at Commencement
The 2001 graduating class of California State University, Chico will be awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees the weekend of May 18-20, 2001. Two of the university’s most distinguished alumni, astrogeologist Carolyn Shoemaker and inventor and talk show host Bill Wattenburg, will be speakers at commencement exercises Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, respectively.
Approximately 1,500 students are expected to receive their bachelor’s degrees each day at the university’s 111th Commencement, for a two-day total of 3,000 students.
Commencement for graduating students in the Colleges of Agriculture, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Humanities and Fine Arts, the Center for International Studies and Undergraduate Education: Liberal Studies/Special Majors will begin 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19.
Commencement ceremonies for graduating students in the Colleges of Business, Communication and Education, Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology and Natural Sciences will begin 9 a.m. Sunday, May 20.
The Saturday and Sunday ceremonies should take roughly two hours, and will be held at the University Stadium rain or shine. Tickets are not required for admission into the stadium for Saturday or Sunday.
Saturday’s Commencement speaker, Carolyn Shoemaker, a 1949 alumna, is the leading comet-discoverer of the 20th century. With the discovery of 800 asteroids and 32 comets, she has more than twice as many such findings as any other woman in the history of astronomy. Her most significant discovery (with husband, Eugene, and David Levy) was Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which collided with Jupiter in 1994.
After attending Chico High, Shoemaker attended Chico State College, graduating cum laude with a degree in history. A year later, she received a master’s and a teaching credential from Chico State.
Shoemaker is a visiting scientist at the Branch of Astrogeology at the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz., a research professor of astronomy at Northern Arizona University and a staff member at Lowell Observatory.
Sunday’s Commencement speaker, Bill Wattenburg, a 1958 alumnus, has designed NASA guidance systems, temporary bridge kits, and the robot that cleared mine fields during Desert Storm as well as other well-publicized inventions. He is also a consultant, researcher, best-selling author and talk show host on San Francisco’s KGO Newstalk Radio.
Wattenburg earned his B.S. in electrical engineering and mathematics from Chico and later received his M.S. in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and physics from UC Berkeley.
Wattenburg spent five years on the faculty at UC Berkeley and founded three successful high-tech companies in the Bay Area. He has served on the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and is a research scientist for the CSU, Chico Research Foundation.
The commencement ceremony for master’s graduates is Friday, May 18, at 7 p.m. in Laxson Auditorium. The master of ceremonies will be Robert Jackson, dean of the School of Graduate, International, and Sponsored Programs. Professor Harriet Spiegel, coordinator of the English M.A. program for the past seven years, will serve as the honorary marshal.
Friday’s ceremony will feature student speaker Cristina Dahl, who will be receiving her master’s degree in English. Last fall, she received the Sallie Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship and a Graduate Equity Fellowship. This spring, she has been accepted to the comparative literature doctoral program at Cornell University, where she will study 20th-century European literature.
Due to limited seating, guests of graduates will be required to have tickets for Friday night’s master’s ceremony. Students may contact the School of Graduate and International Programs at 898-6880 for questions regarding commencement activities. A reception will follow Friday’s master’s ceremony for all graduates, their family and guests.
The CSU, Chico Associated Students is burying a time capsule for the class of 2001 in front of Kendall Hall immediately following Saturday’s ceremony. The A.S. has made a yearly time capsule a permanent project, and Chad Kodet, activity fee commissioner, will speak at the event.
For more information about Commencement exercises, call the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at 898-6472.
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