Ceremony at the Save Mart Center, students begin arriving with their colorful robes at 6:30 p.m. to assemble backstage. Media parking is in Bulldog Lot on the northwest corner of Chestnut and Shaw. Take elevators to floor level. MuIt-box available at the sound system set-up behind the graduate seating on the west end of the lower level. Bios and photos of the nine undergraduate Deans Medalists available through links at FresnoStateNews.com and the Commencement 2006 News Web site. A full press release announcing the University Graduate Medal will be distributed at the Hooding Ceremony.

California State University, Fresno’s annual Graduate Degree Hooding Ceremony will be held Friday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Save Mart Center — ending a full day of graduation convocations and celebrations that will lead up to the General Commencement Ceremony Saturday morning.

This year, 870 students are eligible to receive master’s degrees and seven students will receive doctoral degree hoods at the ceremony hosted by the Division of Graduate Studies. An audience of more than 6,000 persons is expected.

Fresno State offers 43 master’s degrees, and a joint doctorate in educational leadership with the University of California, Davis. Administrative representatives from the University of California will join close to 200 Fresno State graduate faculty for the ceremony that is rich in tradition with its colorful academic regalia.

At the Hooding Ceremony, Fresno State will present the University Graduate Medal — the university’s top academic honor for graduate students — that will be bestowed upon a student chosen from nine Dean’s Graduate Medalists who are being honored for their academic accomplishment.

The 2006 graduate Dean’s Medalists are: Pedro Hernandez of Woodlake, Agricultural Sciences and Technology; Lejla Tricic of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Arts and Humanities; Jennifer C. Guzman of Clovis, Craig School of Business; Vianney A. Luna of Reedley, Kremen School of Education and Human Development; Anusha R. Bhoi of Pune, India, Engineering and Computer Science; Lana Xiang of Fresno, Health and Human Services; Justin A. Costa of Fresno, Science and Mathematics; Edgar Castillo of Fresno, Social Sciences; Roberto C. Vaca of Sanger, Division of Student Affairs.

In addition to the University Graduate Medalist Award, two other honors will be announced Friday night: the Outstanding Thesis Award and the Phyllis Watts Eudy Award for the Outstanding International Graduate Student.

The Hooding Ceremony has each graduate’s name read and their hood signifies their area of study attached to their gown.

Dr. John D. Welty, university president; Dr. Jeronima Echeverria, provost and vice president for academic affairs; and Dr. Dianne Dickerson, interim Graduate Studies dean will conduct the ceremony.

The Hooding Ceremony closes a day of convocations and celebrations through the campus.

Three convocations will be held in the Save Mart Center: the College Kremen School of Education at 9 a.m.; Agricultural Sciences and Technology at 12:30 p.m.; and the Craig School of Business at 4 p.m.

The College of Engineering Convocation is at 10 a.m. in the Satellite Student Union.

Two convocations will be held in the new Student Recreation Center, west of SMC: Social Sciences at 11 a.m. and Arts and Humanities at 2 p.m.

Several department celebrations will also be held on Friday: Communication, Communicative Disorders, Counselor Education, Kinesiology, Mass Communication and Journalism, Physical Therapy, Psychology and Social Work Education. The Nursing Pinning Ceremony is Thursday (May 18) at 5 p.m. at Holland Park West (3855 N. Bryan) in Fresno.

A highlight of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism Convocation will be the announcement of the recipient of the Jim Tucker Journalism Award to a journalist in the San Joaquin Valley who has performed with distinction over an extended period of years. The Tucker Award was established in 2004 when Stephanie Booroojian of KSEE Ch. 24 (NBC) was honored. Last year, Jim Boren of The Fresno Bee was the recipient.

For more information about the Hooding Ceremony, call 278-2448. For Commencement, 278-2741.

http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2006/05/commencement2006.htm http://www.csufresno.edu/gradstudies/hooding/index.htm