CSUN Official to Be Honored

Joyce M. Kennedy, director of the Ventura campus of Cal State Northridge, will be honored at a public reception in Ventura today, where she will receive a commendation from the state Senate.

Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) will present Kennedy with a proclamation for her public service to education and her work to bring a four-year public university to Ventura County.

“Dr. Kennedy is the guiding force behind CSUN Ventura campus,” said Hart, who sponsored legislation to fund the purchase of land for the new campus. “Without her vision, leadership and persistence, we would not have the higher educational opportunities that we have today in Ventura County.”

The Ventura campus offers upper-division and graduate-level courses to about 2,000 students who attend classes in rented office space in west Ventura.

After an often contentious eight-year search for an acceptable Ventura County site, Cal State is preparing to condemn property west of Camarillo to build a four-year university that will become the system’s 21st campus.

Dr. Blenda J. Wilson, president of the Northridge campus, called Kennedy an “outstanding educator.

“Her dedication to her job, the warmth that she imparts to all students and her tireless efforts to create quality education in Ventura exemplifies the vision of higher education in the CSU system,” Wilson said.

The American Assn. of University Women, which is hosting the reception, has set up a scholarship in Kennedy’s name. Proceeds from the $10-per-ticket reception and other donations will fund the ongoing scholarship.

“I am deeply honored,” Kennedy said of the scholarship fund.

But most gratifying, she said, is the recognition that the Ventura campus is receiving in the community.

“People realize that they can get a four-year college degree from a public university in Ventura,” she said. While enrollment lags elsewhere in the state university system, Ventura’s enrollment is climbing, she said.

Kennedy has worked with the Ventura campus since its inception in 1974 and was appointed director in 1988. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, near her hometown of Cumberland. She earned a master’s degree in mass communication from CSUN and her Ph.D in education from UC Santa Barbara.

The reception, which is open to the public, will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Poinsettia Pavilion at 3451 Foothill Road, Ventura. Tickets are available at the door. For more information, call 647-6016.