Longtime NBC Los Angeles journalist and Cal State Fullerton alumna Vikki Vargas ’81 (B.A. communications) will address CSUF’s College of Communications graduates during a May 22 Commencement ceremony on the university’s intramural field. She will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree recognizing her career achievements as a TV news reporter and winner of five Golden Mike Awards and four Emmy Awards.
Vargas retired in 2023 after 41 years as a reporter and as a bureau chief for NBC4 in Orange County. She worked at KESQ in Palm Springs and then became a general assignment reporter at KNBC-TV in Burbank. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award in March 2023 from the Radio Television News Association. She and NBC Los Angeles endowed a scholarship in 2011 for broadcast journalism students at CSUF, where nearly one-third of students are the first in their family to attend college, as she was.
“This is, without a doubt, the highest acknowledgment of my entire career. Cal State Fullerton was where I was encouraged, not coddled…where I was taught to believe that a college education could take you anywhere if you were willing to work hard to get there.”
Vargas lives in the Palm Springs area and consults as a news content specialist at NBC Palm Springs, occasionally reporting on news stories for the station.
“Vikki Vargas has spent her career delivering stories that matter—shining a light on the issues, people and moments that shape Southern California,” said CSUF President Ronald S. Rochon. “Her sharp reporting, and commitment to her communities have earned her the trust of viewers far and wide. Cal State Fullerton is proud to honor her impact and leadership with the university’s highest recognition.”
More than 11,000 Titans are eligible to participate in CSUF’s commencement ceremonies May 19-22, and more than 100,000 attendees are expected to visit campus that week.