Skip to main content

River Forest, IL  – Dr. Ngozi Ezike, immediate past director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, will be the keynote speaker during Dominican University’s Black Achievements Ceremony.

The annual ceremony celebrating the achievements of Black and African-American graduates will be held Monday, April 25 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the university’s Lund Auditorium. It will also be streamed via Zoom.

Ezike, who recently stepped down from the IDPH after leading the department through the COVID-19 pandemic, was the first Black woman appointed director of the 143-year-old Illinois agency. An internist and pediatrician, she previously worked for Cook County Health for more than 15 years and was the medical director at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Rush Medical College.

The tentative title of Ezike’s address is “Resilience After Challenge.”

Dominican’s Black Achievements Ceremony will recognize members of the Class of 2022, as well as recipients of the Christopher Little Educational Support Grant and the Sister Melissa Waters/Elder’s Council Scholarship. Graduates will also receive Kente graduation stoles.

The event is hosted by the Center for Cultural Liberation at Dominican University.

About Dominican University 

Founded in 1901, Dominican University is a comprehensive, coeducational Catholic institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees through the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, the Borra College of Health Sciences, the Brennan School of Business and the College of Applied Social Sciences. The university also offers a doctoral degree in information studies. U.S. News & World Report ranks Dominican University #10 of all Midwest regional master’s level universities, the best value in the Chicago area and #1 in Illinois for ensuring the social mobility of its graduates.