The African/African American Heritage Award
The African/African American Heritage Award honors a Dominican University alumna/us whose life and work follows the mission of pursuing truth and giving compassionate service. It is awarded during the African/African American Heritage Reception each February.
2020 African/African American Heritage Award Recipient: Marlon E. Mitchell ’08
Marlon is the founder and co-director of FirstFollowers, a re-entry program for formerly incarcerated individuals, which assists with obtaining ID, employment, education, and housing. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana. He obtained bachelor degrees from Dominican University and Southern Illinois University in Computer Science and Industrial Engineering Technology, respectively. Marlon's research interest is understanding systemic structures that cause issues of equity, access, and attainment for underrepresented racial minorities in STEM.
Previous recipients of the African/African American Heritage Award
2019: Toyia K. Stewart ’93
2018: Binyamin Jones ’07
2017: RoJenia (Judkins) Jones ’07, PhD
2016: Kendall Moore ’09, MD
2015: Jeffrey O. Porter ’98
2014: Marilyn Anderson Rhames ’96
2013: Patricia Ann Askew ’77
2012: Denise Dixon Ferguson ’75
2011: Vernita Jones ’61
2010: Christopher Phills ’00
2009: Dana Spell ’88
2008: Fred Sloan ’76
2007: Christopher Little ’91 (1969-2007)
2006: Emily Guss ’75
2005: Sabrena Thurmond Davis ’95
To nominate an alumna/us for the African/African American Heritage Award, click the following Nomination form and select “African/African American Heritage Award” in the drop-down menu.
Supplemental materials that cannot be uploaded may be mailed to Office of Alumnae/i Relations, Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305. You can also fax supplemental materials to (708) 366-4197.
Please email the Office of Alumnae/i Relations at alumni@dom.edu (link sends e-mail) or call (708) 524-6286 with any questions regarding award nominations.