Sonoma State University holds its 44th annual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 28 in an event that historically draws more than 10,000 people to Commencement Lawn on the Rohnert Park campus. Of the approximately 2,100 SSU students eligible to graduate, about 1,500 are expected to participate.
The ceremonies are scheduled at 10 a.m. for the School of Arts and Humanities, School of Business and Economics, and the School of Education and 3 p.m. for the School of Science and Technology and the School of Social Sciences. The ceremonies will be web cast from http://streaming.sonoma.edu.
International flags will be flown during the ceremonies to honor the students from around the world who came to study at Sonoma State this year. Nations that will be recognized include Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Ukraine.
Keynote speaker for both the morning and afternoon ceremony is Dr. Rand Link, Vice President for Student Affairs. Link has served as an administrator at Sonoma State University since 1970, and is retiring in August of 2005 after 35 years of outstanding leadership and contributionsto the campus.
SSU will also honor Santa Rosa Symphony Director Jeffery Kahane with a Doctor of Fine Arts degree. Kahane is an acclaimed symphony conductor, piano soloist and chamber musician, as well as the artistic director of SSU's Green Music Festival.
Student speakers at the commencement include Christopher Fadeff, who is graduating with a bachelor's degree in Economics, and Deanna Chase, who has earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology.
Excellence in Teaching Awards will go to Physics and Astronomy professor Bryant Hichwa and Chicano and Latino Studies professor Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez.
Staff Excellence Awards go to Thomas Cooper, advisor for the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, and Erica Wilcher, operations analyst in the School of Social Sciences.
Reservations and tickets are not needed to attend Commencement 2005 and the public is invited to attend. Parking is free in all areas. The campusis located at 1801 E. Cotati Ave. in Rohnert Park.
For further information see the Commencement 2005 Web site at www.sonoma.edu/uaffairs/commencement/
Various Sonoma State University groups hold their own special celebrations on Friday, May 27, the day before the official day of Commencement, to honor their own. They will also walk in the official Commencement on Saturday, May 28. Here is a schedule of some of the programs:
STUDENT-ATHLETES
The Sonoma State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics holds its student-athlete commencement on at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 27 in the SSU Gym Courtyard. Graduating seniors will be honored in a ceremony and all friends of the department are invited. For more information, contact Camille Filardo at (707) 664-2641.
LA RAZA
Each year graduating Sonoma State University students with Native American, Latino or Chicano heritage gather for the annual La Raza graduation.
This year's 28th annual La Raza ceremony takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 27 in Evert B. Person Theatre. The ceremony includes cultural music, keynote speakers, and a unique opportunity for the graduates to thank the individuals who have assisted them in obtaining their degree.
A reception follows and provides personal time for graduates, family, faculty, and friends to celebrate with traditional food and music.
Many of the graduates participating in the La Raza ceremony are first-generation college grads, and this special celebration allows them to personally thank those who have gone out of their way to work with the students and help them achieve the goal of a college degree.
The event is co-sponsored by Raza/Native American Council and Chicano and Latino Studies. The bilingual ceremony is conducted in Spanish and English and is open to the general public. For more information on this event, contact Raza Graduation Committee Chair Maricarmen Reyes Larios at (707) 953- 0407.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS
The 13th annual Black Graduation Celebration takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 27 in the SSU Cooperage. The Black Graduation Celebration is an opportunity for the University to acknowledge the achievements of African-American students and the students to thank their families, friends, faculty and mentors.
SSU President Ruben Arminana will greet the graduates. A reception follows the program. Keynote speaker is James M. Taylor, Jr., retired principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Academic Middle School of the San Francisco Unified School District. Moderator is Andre Bailey, friend and mentor to many of the graduates, who speaks every year about the struggles and accomplishments of the students.
The Academic Senate at Sonoma State University has named Elizabeth Martinez, Modern Languages and Literature, and Byrant Hichwa, Physics and Astronomy, as this year's recipients of the annual Excellence in Teaching Awards. A reception honoring these distinguished professors will be held later in the year.
Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez, of Santa Rosa, teaches Latin American literature in the Spanish Program, and U.S. Latino literature in the Chicano and Latino Studies Department, where she is currently Chair. She was previously Chair of the Modern Languages & Literatures Department.
Prior to her arrival at Sonoma State, she taught journalism and Spanish at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. At SSU, her classes range from advanced level Spanish classes in Composition, Latin American Culture and Literature, to classes on significant Mexican, Central American and Caribbean authors, and Chicano writers.
She frequently publishes academic and popular articles, and published a book titled "Before the Boom: Latin American Revolutionary Novels of the 1920s" in 2001. She has a new book being published this summer on Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska's early fiction.
Bryant Hichwa rejoined academia in 2002 as a member of the faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty at Sonoma State University. Following his undergraduate education at Georgetown University and earning the Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Hichwa taught physics at Hope College in Michigan for 10 years. Then he worked extensively in industry, ultimately taking on the role of director of research and vice president of research product development at Optical Coating Laboratory in Santa Rosa and in 2000, president and chief operating officer at MetroPhotonics (USA), Inc., also in Santa Rosa.
Dr. Hichwa has taught introductory-level and upper-division courses in physics as well as a new general education course, Physics of Music. In addition, he has developed several innovative courses in telecommunications and photonics including a state of the art laboratory in fiber optics and laser communications. He has mentored a number of undergraduate and graduate theses and research projects in optical communications.
Areas of special interest are fiber optic amplifiers, optical ring resonators, optical MEMS switching devices and optical waveguide design in 3-5 semiconductor materials.
The awards are funded by a grant from the Sarlo Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund and by Dr. Bernard and Estelle Goldstein.
Santa Rosa Symphony conductor Jeffrey Kahane will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts at Sonoma State University's 44th Annual Commencement on Saturday, May 28.
The degree is awarded in recognition of Kahane's musical virtuosity, his dedication to education and his outstanding reputation as a conductor, soloist and mentor by both the trustees of the California State University and by Sonoma State University.
As music director of the Santa Rosa Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Kahane has received much praise for his innovative programming and his commitment to education and community involvement.
Under his leadership both orchestras have collaborated with schools in creative concert performances that have attracted wider audiences to the world of classical music. His engaging conversations with concert audiences are a hallmark of his artistry.
Jeffrey Kahane also brought his passion for education and community involvement to the Green Music Festival at Sonoma State University, where he has served as artistic director since its inception. He is equally well known and admired for his dedication to working with young musicians and for inspiring and assisting them with their careers.
Kahane has established an international reputation as a versatile performing artist, equally acclaimed as a symphony conductor, piano soloist and chamber musician. Performing with leading orchestras around the world, he is recognized by audiences for his mastery of a diverse repertoire from classical baroque music to modern jazz.
Sonoma State University professor Steve Estes' history class is ending the semester with a dramatic presentation of "War in America: An Oral History Performance" from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 in the Student Union.
The event is based on interviews that SSU students conducted with Californians who directly experienced or were affected by American military conflicts from World War II to the present conflict in Iraq.
The students captured a range of diverse opinions and voices by interviewing American veterans, veterans' wives, anti-war protestors, conscientious objectors, and Japanese American internees.
The students have created original performance pieces from interview excerpts to make a dramatic collage of American wartime experiences both on the battle front and the home front.
"Think of Eve Ensler's performance of the "Vagina Monologues" or Anna Deveare Smith's performance of interviews with participants in the 1992 LA riots," says Estes to get an idea of how it will be presented.
The public is invited to attend.
Dr. Tharcisse Seminega will tell his story of survival during the massacre in Rwanda in 1994 as part of the Holocaust Lecture Series at Sonoma State University at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10 in Ives Hall in Warren Auditorium.
Seminega and his family of six, all of the Tutsi tribe, were saved by members of the Hutu tribe who risked their lives to hide them. For two and a half months they stayed first in a hut for goats and later in a hole in the earth where they could not leave or even speak. All of them miraculously survived.
Seminega and his wife together lost more than one hundred relatives in the genocide. After these tragic and traumatic events they decided to immigrate to Canada and are currently living in Toronto.
Seminega is fluent in many languages, has a bachelors of science in biological science, a masters degree in nutrition and food science and a Ph.D. in Biotechnology and Food Industry.
Also speaking will be Mathilde Mukantabana, who founded "Friends of Rwanda" an organization which supports orphans in Rwanda. Two Sonoma State students who worked with Mukantabana in Rwanda last year will also be present.
The event free and is open to the public.
What could southwest Santa Rosa look like by the year 2025?
By integrating civic buildings, public transportation, housing and retailers, the area could be a bustling city center according to a final report filed by Sonoma State University urban planning students who have been focusing on the long-range future of the area for a year.
The students from the SSU Planning Workshop will present "Southwest Santa Rosa Community Plan: 2025" at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 16 in the Santa Rosa City Council Chambers. The event will be broadcast on Community Access television, Channel 71.
One of the essential proposals the SSU Planning Workshop advocates is the redevelopment of the old Santa Rosa Naval Auxiliary Air Station into a multi-use center featuring civic buildings such as social services and a transit hub, as well as living spaces located above ground-level storefronts.
"We believe that these modifications would better serve a growing population, as well as building the developments to serve the currently proposed SMART system," says Dru Krupinsky, one of the planning students, referring to the anticipated commuter train that would ran from Ukiah to Marin.
The plan also has a number of interesting proposals that differ from current long-range planning policies in the area. Some focus on encouraging the development of multi-use buildings and increasing residential and commercial density in some areas.
Area leaders and community members are strongly encouraged to attend the SSU Planning Workshop's presentation, as many of the policy tools that the report recommends may be useful to those already involved in working towards solutions for the area.
For further information on the Southwest Santa Rosa Community Plan, contact SSU planning professor Steven Orlick at (707) 664-2414.
I LAUGHED 'TILL I CRIED - The theme of this concert is captured in Johan de Meij's classic band score, Lord of the Rings, when "Journey in the Dark" finds its way to the "Hobbits." From the silliness of Whitacre's "Noisy Wheels of Joy" to the funereal aria of Berlioz' "Grand Symphonie," from Percy Grainger's "Handel in the Strand" to the "Final Covenant" by Fisher Tull, this concert will tap into your deepest emotions. $8 general admission, $6 faculty, alumni, staff, $4 students and seniors, SSU students free. 4 p.m., Sunday, May 15, Evert B. Person Theatre, (707) 664-2353.
INVISIBLE CHILDREN - Invisible Children, a film about Ugandan child soldiers, will be shown in conjunction with a lecture from guest speaker Walter Lam, the CEO of Alliance for African Assistance. 7 p.m., Monday, May 16, SSU Student Union Multipurpose Room, (707) 664-3368.
SECOND GENERATION PANEL - Panel discussion with Elaine Leeder, Ph.D, Julia Nemeth and Blair Pleasant. Holocaust Lecture Series. 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 17, Warren Auditorium, (707) 664-4076.
INTIMATE INTERPLAY - Chamber Music Program director Marilyn Thompson presents a varied program featuring student chamber ensembles. 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 17, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
UNDERSTANDING ASPERGER'S SYNDROME - Diann Grimm form the CA Department of Education's Northern California Diagnostic Center will provide an overview of Asperger's and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Lecture, discussion and other media will be used to help participants understand ways in which autism spectrum disorders affect behavior at school. This presentation will be open to the Sonoma State campus and surrounding community, including community college educators and disability specialists. 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, The Cooperage, (707) 664-2677.
EOP & LSS AWARDS RECEPTION - The Educational Opportunity Program and Learning Skills Services join with the campus community in recognizing the accomplishments of our outstanding students. Refreshments will be served. Wednesday, May 18, 4-5 pm, Commons, (707) 664-3124.
GREEN STRUCTURAL OPTIONS: COSTS, BENEFITS & PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS - Of wood, steel, and concrete, which is a greener and more cost effective building material? This workshop will help to answer this and other questions regard green materials used for the construction of a building's shell. 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, SSU Environmental Technology Center, (707) 664-2577.
BERNSTEIN'S "MASS": IRREVERENCE AND DEVOTION - Lecture by Lynne Morrow of the SSU Music Department on the composition and controversy of Bernstein's "Mass." Arts and Humanities Research Forum. Noon, Thursday, May 19, Schulz 1121, (707) 664-2146.
MUSIC FOR UNCHARTED EARS - Hear the Mozarts of tomorrow in this student composers' concert. New compositions explore uncharted waters in this concert of original music. Noon, Thursday, May 19, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
STRAIGHT AHEAD WITH FUSION - Sonoma County's jazz maestro, Mel Graves, directs the University Jazz Ensemble in a program of student arrangements and assorted modern classics. 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 19, Warren Auditorium, (707) 664-2353.
BACH IN WEIMAR - The Sonoma County Bach Choir, the Santa Rosa Children's Chorus and Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, featuring natural trumpeter John Thiessen perform two great works from Bach's Weimar period: Cantatas 21 and 147. $12 general admission, $10 faculty, alumni and staff, $8 students and seniors, SSU students free. 8p.m., Friday, May 20, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 8400 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor; 8p.m., Saturday, May 21, Holy Family Episcopal Church, 1500 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, (707) 664-2353.
BREATH, BOWS AND HAMMERS - Marilyn Thompson and Brian Wilson present chamber music works played by ensembles comprised of varied combinations of instruments. 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
Galleries:
STUDIO STORIES: NARRATIVES IN TWO DIMENSIONS - The Studio Stories exhibition was created by Sonoma State University art students, juried by students, and the exhibition designed and installed by students. Student curators worked to collectively present the artists' individual stories and yet meld them into one cogent exhibition and ultimately an interesting anthology. Weekdays: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Weekends: Noon - 5p.m., April 15-June 3, Schulz Information Center Library, (707) 664-4240.
MIGRANT/LATINO YOUTH ART EXHIBIT - Artwork from some of Sonoma County's finest young Latino students will be on display in the Intercultural Center Gallery at Sonoma State University as part of the third annual Migrant/Latino Student Art Exhibit. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Through June 3, ICC Gallery, (707) 664-2382.
INTERVENTION - Sculpture installation featuring the art of Professor Jann Nunn's intermediate and advanced sculpture class. Please park at the Melon Barn on Petaluma Hill Road and Warrington Road. Shuttle provided every 15 minutes. 3 p.m.-7 p.m., May 14 and 15, 1470 Warrington Road, Santa Rosa, (707) 694-3824
For more events, visit the official SSU calendar at http://www.sonoma.edu/university/calendars.shtml.
SSU psychology professor Lorna Catford has been been awarded $70,000 of a $80,000-plus grant from the California State Department of Developmental Services for a Collaborative Autism Training and Service project in the North Bay.
Catford will identify the service and training needs of families of local children diagnosed on the autism spectrum in a partnership with the North Bay Regional Center, Sonoma County Office of Education and several other local agencies.
She will also design courses for SSU students and professionals which draw on existing autism research and practice, as well as input from parents of children with autism diagnoses, and arrange guest lectures by community experts in the field.
SSU students will have a civic engagement component - working with the children and their families. Parents who participate in the program will be invited to the lecture series.
Catford says that 20% of children in pre-school special education programs in Sonoma County have autism as their primary diagnosis. Local agencies report that 55% of intakes to California Regional Centers - the main state agencies that provide services to people with developmental disabilities, including those with autism - now have a diagnosis of full spectrum autism. Autism rates in the U.S. have risen sharply according to reports in the media in the past few months.
The Disabled Student Services office at SSU will host Diann Grimm from the California Department of Education's Diagnostic Center North from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18 in the Cooperage to present a discussion on Asperger's Syndrome/Autism Spectrum Disorders and the impact on teaching, learning and campus life.
Anyone who provides direct service to students will likely find this in-service training to be a valuable experience, says Brent Boyer of Disabled Student Services. There is no cost for admission and an RSVP is appreciated.
Please contact Brent Boyer, (707) 664-2677 for more information on this event. Professor Catford can be reached at (707) 664-2402.
Artwork from some of Sonoma County's finest young Latino students will be on display in the Intercultural Center Gallery at Sonoma State University as part of the third annual Migrant/Latino Student Art Exhibit. The exhibition runs now through June 3.
In this gallery show, local Latino and Latina students have the opportunity to create a space of their own in order to express themselves in a variety of forms. The students, ranging from future art majors to self-proclaimed artists, offer a public display of the world through their eyes.
A gallery reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 6 where participating students will present their work as well as other expressions of their creativity, such as poetry or music.
This event is sponsored by Migrant Education Region II Area I, the Sonoma Student Union InterCultural Center and Sonoma State MEChA. InterCultural Center Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Parking permits are required to park on campus and can be purchased for $2.50.
For more information, contact Maureen Purtill with the Migrant Education Program at (707) 526-1272, ext. 44.
For more information on these or other InterCultural Center events please call (707) 664-2382, or visit online at www.sonoma.edu/ICC.
BACH IN COeTHEN - A guest ensemble featuring violinists Anthony Martin, Joe Edelberg and cellist Elizabeth Reed perform works from Bach Coethen period, including the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. $12 general admission, $10 faculty, alumni, staff, $8 students and seniors, SSU students free. 4 p.m., Sunday, May 1, Holy Family Episcopal Church, 1500 E. Cotati Ave. Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park, (707) 664-2353.
CATCHING GAMMA RAY BURSTS ON THE FLY - Dr. Lynn Cominsky presents the latest results from NASA's Swift mission and describe the Education/Public Outreach program conducted at SSU. What Physicists Do Lecture Series. 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, Stevenson 2006, (707) 664-2119.
GIVING VOICE TO SILENCE: POST-HOLOCAUST LITERATURE - Lecture on the literary response to the Holocaust presented by SSU professor Barbara Lesch McCaffry. Holocaust Lecture Series. 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, Warren Auditorium, (707) 664-4076.
RESHAPING THE COMMUNITY: LGBT FAMILIES CROSSING NEW BOUNDARIES - In the San Francisco Bay Area, the concentration of families headed by LGBT parents is among the highest in the nation. This development creates fascinating tensions and opportunities. Can the Castro be kid-friendly? Queer Studies Lecture Series. Noon, Thursday, May 5, Carson 68, (707) 664-2840.
JAZZ BENEFIT CONCERT AND SILENT AUCTION FOR CHILDREN'S SCHOOL - Bay Area jazz musician David Ewell and Friends plus Silent Auction. $5 donation at the door, or $10 including pizza dinner, for adults. Admission is free for children. No host bar. 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Thursday, May 5, the Pub in the Student Union, (707) 664-2230.
FRESH AIRE - The SSU Chamber Wind Ensemble performs W. A. Mozart's "Gran Partita" Serenade for 13 instruments, K. 361, a major work that goes far beyond the sphere of light entertainment. The SSU Brass and Percussion Ensembles finishes their first season in regal style with selections by Copland, Grieg, Barber, Plog, and Gabrieli. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
SIDE BY SIDE - A one-man show by comedian Brian Wetzel dealing with the issue of his 20-year bout with clinical depression. 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 6, Ives 119, (707) 664-2785.
BACH IN LEIPZIG - The Sonoma County Bach Choir and the SSU Chamber Singers join forces to present motets of J.S. Bach, written during Bach's long tenure as Capellmeister in the city of Leipzig. $12 general admission, $10 faculty, alumni, staff, $8 students and seniors, SSU students free. 8 p.m., Friday, May 6, Sebastopol Methodist Church and 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, Holy Family Episcopal Church, 1500 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, (707) 664-2353.
LA VOCE GLORIOSA / THE GLORIOUS VOICE - Hear and experience exciting songs and arias from every musical genre as SSU's master studio voice students come together in two recitals shaped by directors Susan Witt-Butler, Christopher Fritszche, and Lynne Morrow. 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
BALLET FOLKLORICO NIGHT - Drawing on traditional dance, music and song as tools for the transmission of culture, Ballet Folklorico Night will represent the artistic variety of Mexico's different regions. General admission $15, SSU faculty and staff $12, SSU students, mothers, and children under 12 admitted free. 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, Warren Auditorium, (707) 664-2537.
SOUNDS OF THE CELESTIAL SPHERE - Enjoy an evening of peace and tranquility as Dr. Laxmi G. Tewari sings Indian classical ragas and devotional songs to the accompaniment of tabla, harmonium and tambura, each played by world-class musical artists. $12 general admission, $10 faculty, alumni, staff, $8 students and seniors, SSU students free. 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, Ives 119, (707) 664-2353.
