(Top L-R): The Honorable Franklin Valderrama, Marlee Matlin and Dianne Reeves. (Bottom L-R): Gerald Beeson, Michael Hennessy and Dr. Shirley Malcom. (Photos provided by speakers) CHICAGO — Leaders in business, music and more have been selected to speak and receive honorary degrees at DePaul University’s upcoming commencement ceremonies.
The College of Law will celebrate graduates at The Chicago Theatre on May 24. Six additional ceremonies will also take place June 14 and 15 at Wintrust Arena. Each event will also be available to view online via livestream. For additional details and schedules about individual ceremonies, please visit the commencement website at
go.depaul.edu/commencement.
The Honorable Franklin Valderrama is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A College of Law alum, Judge Valderrama is the first Panamanian American to serve as an Article III judge in the country. Judge Valderrama has served as a panelist for the Chicago Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association on numerous CLE topics, ranging from class actions to Title VII and employment discrimination. He received the College of Law Outstanding Service to the Profession Award in 2020.
Judge Valderrama will speak at the College of Law ceremony on May 24.
Marlee Matlin is an actress, author and activist whose work on behalf of the Deaf community has led her to be named the ACLU's celebrity ambassador for disability rights. Matlin is a world-renowned actress who was the first Deaf actress to win an Academy Award and has received a Golden Globe award. She is the recipient of both the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion and the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award for disability advocacy.
Matlin will speak and receive an honorary degree at the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media ceremony on June 14.
Dianne Reeves, widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent jazz vocalist, is a five-time Grammy winner and the first vocalist to receive a Grammy for “Best Jazz Vocal Performance” for three consecutive recordings. She starred in George Clooney’s “Good Night & Good Luck,” was the first singer to ever perform in Walt Disney Concert Hall and has performed on multiple occasions at both Carnegie Hall and The White House. Her virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz and R&B stylings resulted in Reeves having been designated a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists.
Reeves will speak and receive an honorary degree at the College of Science and Health and School of Music ceremony on June 14.
Gerald A. Beeson is a leader in the global finance industry as Chief Operating Officer of Citadel LLC. A DePaul alum, Beeson has been a longtime supporter of the university, including recently serving as chair of the Board of Trustees for nearly four years. Beeson is philanthropically active with a number of organizations including Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Marist High School and Big Shoulders Fund where he and his wife serve on the Board of Directors and fund the Beeson Scholars Program which has provided hundreds of scholarships for students across Chicago over the past 15 years.
Beeson will speak and receive an honorary degree at the Driehaus College of Business ceremony on June 15.
Michael Hennessy worked as the chief operating officer of Fannie May Candy Company before devoting himself to service through the management of the Coleman Foundation. First as director and later as president and CEO, Hennessy developed the foundation’s education efforts supporting high-quality programs for underserved populations and building a base for economic growth and development in the Chicago area until his retirement in 2020. In 2003, Hennessy worked with the foundation to provide the charter gift for the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center.
Hennessy will speak and receive an honorary degree at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business ceremony on June 15.
Shirley Malcom is senior advisor and director of SEA Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has worked throughout her career to increase access to education and careers in science. Malcom has served as a member of the National Science Board and co-chair of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development. Today, she serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments, Kavli Foundation and Caltech and chairs the board of the National Math-Science Initiative.
Malcom will speak and receive an honorary degree at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies ceremony on June 15.
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