Illinois Supreme Court Justice, Philanthropic Foundation President to Receive Honorary Degrees from DU

An Illinois Supreme Court justice and the leader of prestigious community foundation will each receive honorary degrees from Dominican University during Commencement 2023 ceremonies.

Justice Joy V. Cunningham, who was appointed to the State Supreme Court in December 2022, and Andrea Sáenz, president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, will each be presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa on May 7.

Cunningham will deliver a speech to the undergraduate Class of 2023, and Sáenz will deliver a speech to the graduate class.

Cunningham is the second Black female justice to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. She was previously elected to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2006 and reelected in 2016.

In 2004, Cunningham was elected president of the Chicago Bar Association, becoming the first Black woman to lead what is the nation’s largest municipal bar association. Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association did not admit Black attorneys to its ranks for decades, making Cunningham’s achievement that much more significant.

Cunningham received a Bachelor of Science Degree from City University of New York and worked as a critical care nurse in the intensive care unit of a Chicago hospital before earning her Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in 1982. She worked as an assistant attorney general for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, served as a law clerk to Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson, and was the associate general counsel and chief counsel for healthcare at Loyola University where she established and managed Loyola’s healthcare legal division.

Other roles have included Cook County Circuit Court associate judge in the criminal division and senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for the Northwestern Memorial Healthcare System.

As president of the Chicago Community Trust, Andrea Sáenz oversees a foundation that awarded more than $1.4 billion in funding to over 7,000 organizations serving metropolitan Chicago during the 2021 fiscal year. She is the first Latine leader of the Trust in its 108-year history.

Prior to joining the Chicago Community Trust, Sáenz held a leadership role with the Chicago Public Library, serving as first deputy commissioner and chief strategy officer. She led strategy, program design, evaluation and organizational development for the library system, which includes 80 neighborhood branches. She also served as chief of staff for Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, as a policy strategist for the U.S. Department of Education, and as president of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, a national non-profit dedicated to the employment and advancement of Latine professionals.

Saénz began her career in the social sector with Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a Philadelphia-based organization that helps predominantly Latine neighborhoods achieve economic wellbeing. She led community-based adult education and workforce development services for the non-profit organization.

In 2019, Sáenz was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s Most Powerful Latinos.

Born in Ecuador and raised in Los Angeles, Sáenz earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies from Scripps College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Commencement will take place at the Rosemont Theatre, beginning with the undergraduate ceremony at noon, followed by the graduate ceremony at 4:30 p.m.