A new spin on Commencement meets centuries-old tradition this year as the graduate and undergraduate Classes of 2006 will each have their own ceremonies for the first time in 40 years, on Thursday, May 18 and Friday, May 19, respectively. The Thursday evening Hooding Ceremony will now include the conferral of degrees for graduate students. More than 500 master’s candidates are expected for the Thursday event; the undergraduate ceremony on Friday will celebrate approximately 1,500 students.

In January, CSU Dominguez Hills received $192,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to establish the Center for Urban Environmental Research (CUER) on campus, jumpstarting the professors needed to work together in fostering environmental research. The Center also plans to develop a new interdisciplinary master’s degree in urban environmental science as well as an educational pipeline to introduce K-12 students to environmental and science-based careers.