News Archive 2020

December 30, 2020

Emily Compton-Dzak MLIS ’07 has been appointed as the new Director of the River Forest Public Library. She currently works as the Assistant Director and Head of Adult Services at Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District and has 20 years of experience in the library field. Read more.

December 23, 2020

Alex Gutierrez MLIS ’19 has been with the Oak Park Public Library since 2016, when he served as a volunteer. In December 2020, he began his new role as Teen Services Librarian. Read more.

December 16, 2020

Marty Carlino ’17 has co-founded The Record North Shore, a digital newsroom that covers Chicago's North Side suburbs. While attending Dominican, Marty served as executive editor of the campus newspaper, The Dominican Star. Read more.

December 2020

Andreas Fleps ’15 is a 29-year-old poet, based near Chicago. He studied theology and philosophy at Dominican University, and his debut collection of poems entitled, Well into the Night (via Energion Publications) was released in December 2020. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

Roberto Sepulveda MBA ’10, Arianna Salgado ’15 and Suhad Tabahi, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, discuss inequalities in immigration. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

Binyamin Jones ’07, Berto Aguayo ’16 and Clinton Nichols, assistant professor of criminology, discuss creating peace in Chicago Neighborhoods. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

Like most large gatherings in the era of COVID-19, Dominican hosted the annual Caritas Veritas Symposium in a virtual format. Shaina Warfield ’20 read an original poem during the plenary session. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting our campus, Yiping Chen MBA ’08 donated 1,000 surgical masks to Dominican’s Wellness Center. Yiping lives in China and is the Managing Partner of Ruilai Law Firm. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

"These past four years at Dominican, I have found that my purpose is to help others." - Timiya Ray ’20. Read more.

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine

Neil Ehmig ’16, BSN, Nancy Rivera ’13 and Tamara Bland, acting executive director of the MacNeil School of Nursing, discuss inequities in healthcare. Read more.

November 30, 2020

Matt Stuczynski MLIS ’09 has been inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1991 to honor those who have made significant contributions to the quality of life of the LGBT community in Chicago. The organization held a virtual ceremony on October 13 to honor all 2020 inductees. Read more.

November 6, 2020

Jose Garcia ’10 has been named the boys' basketball head coach at his alma mater St. Joseph Catholic Academy Kenosha. He is a cross-categorical teacher at Jerstad-Agerholm Middle School and president of the non-profit Anointed Hoops, which aims for community outreach through basketball. Read more.

May 2, 1928–October 11, 2020

Anna Marie Garippo Sciaraffa ’49 served as Rosary College’s first lay director of alumnae relations, overseeing what would ultimately become the Annual Trustee Benefit Concert and Gala and the Children’s Christmas Party. She subsequently served as a member of the Board of Trustees. Read more.

October 2020

Elizabeth Fischer Monastero ’57 enjoyed a singing career that took her all over the world, from the White House to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. A professor of voice at Northwestern University for 36 years, Elizabeth is currently working on a memoir. Read more.

October 5, 2020

Christina Bottis BA ’05, Chief Marketing Officer at Coyote Logistics, has been named a Notable Executive in Marketing for 2020 by Crain's Chicago Business. Read more.

October 3, 2020

Alexis Hoskins ’20 is realizing her dream of a law enforcement career as she is now in academy at the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center in Decatur. She graduated in May and started the process of becoming a sheriff’s deputy in July. Read more.

October 2, 2020

Timiya Ray ’20, known as the artist T.Ray, has released her first EP titled "Eventually". She invested in her own studio equipment and won a grant from Dominican University to finance "Eventually," which is available on major streaming platforms. Read more.

1979–2020

Jeanette Dunning O’Laughlin served as a cherished friend, colleague and most importantly to her family, a beloved wife, mother, daughter and sister. Read more.

September 22, 2020

Kansas State University officials announced that Lori Goetsch MALIS ’82, Dean of Libraries, will retire at the end of the academic year on May 28. Lori has served in the role since 2004. Read more.

September 15, 2020

Sean McCarthy MBA ’10 has been named to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association Board of Directors. He is the Regional Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives at Comcast. Read more.

September 2020

Giana Galeno '07 currently serves as the Shows Team Lead at Kansas City Zoo, a position she has held since February 2020. She previously worked at Brookfield Zoo (2015–20) and Lincoln Park Zoo (2008–15). Read more.

September 2020

Andre Lodree ’08 has self-published his second poetry memoir, Fear & Faith. Andre's first poetry memoir, Lost & Found, was published in 2013. Read more.

September 2, 2020

Benedictine Sister Vivian Ivantic MALS ’55 was interviewed by Chicago Catholic's Michelle Martin after turning 107 years old on August 28. As part of her 85th jubilee celebration, it was discovered that Sister Vivian is the oldest living Benedictine woman in the world. Read more.

August 31, 2020

Jaime Campos ’13, Team Lead Broker for RE/MAX Loyalty, was featured by Chicago Agent Magazine. Jaime and her sister Augustina co-own RE/MAX Loyalty while also leading their real estate team, The Chicago Property Sisters. Read more.

August 28, 2020

Monica Dombrowski MLIS ’08 has been named the new director of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District. She previously served as the executive director of Sycamore Public Library. Read more.

August 27, 2020

Como Magazine interviewed Margaret Conroy MALIS ’86 in its Get to Know series. She is the executive director of Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri. Read more.

August 20, 2020

The Genesee District Library (GDL) has named Katie Badgley MLIS ’95 as the new branch librarian at the Linden Library. Her 25-year career in libraries includes 12 years at GDL, six as the children’s librarian. Read more.

August 17, 2020

Tiffany D. Hightower MSOL ’11 has been named executive director of The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF), the civic/philanthropic arm of the ILBC. Previously, the skilled political strategy consultant served as interim director. Read more.

July 24, 2020

David Gayes ’14 is a disability rights activist, Interfaith Youth Core alumnus, whose spirituality and disability are core aspects of his identity. Read more.

July 2020

Jasminum McMullen ’18 has been named the managing editor of Mount Island Literary Magazine. She previously served as the magazine's fiction and poetry editor. Read more.

July 9, 2020

A distinguished librarian, Joslyn Bowling Dixon MLIS ’09 brings a wealth and depth of experience working in large urban public libraries spanning more than 20 years. Read more.

June 23, 2020

Samantha Sundquist MLIS ’19 was recently profiled in the LoganSquarist as she founded Sunny's Shared Spines, a free lending library for the Humboldt Park and Logan Square communities. The library is run out of her Logan Square home amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. Read more.

June 15, 2020

Savannah Kitchens MLIS ’11, director of the Parnell Memorial Library in Montevallo, Alabama, is putting her staff’s sewing skills to use by making free face masks for anyone who needs them to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read more.

June 12, 2020

Minnesota State Law Librarian Liz Robb Reppe MLIS ’02 is conducting outreach to encourage lawyers to turn to the State Law Library for assistance with legal research. Read more.

June 7, 2020

As a part of its series about leaders who integrate mindfulness and spiritual practices into their work culture, Authority Magazine interviewed Gina Marotta ’98. In 2008, Gina was presented with the Graduate of the Last Decade Award by Dominican University. Read more.

June 1, 2020

Congratulations to Małgorzata Kot MLIS ’13 on her 25th anniversary as an employee at the Polish Museum of America (PMA). As PMA’s Managing Director, she fulfills the museum's mission of preserving the past for future generations. Read more.

April 2020 Alumnae/i Magazine

For her series The Passion of the Monarca Migrante, Jaqueline Romo ’19 composed 15 prints referencing the Stations of the Cross in a new and provocative way. Read more.

April 2020 Alumnae/i Magazine

John Hannes ’06 claims that his theater training has enhanced his career with Rotary International by teaching him how to draw people out in conversations. Read more.

April 2020 Alumnae/i Magazine

Maryann Dreas-Shaikha ’10, a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, is driven by a desire to tackle inequities in education. Read more.

April 2020 Alumnae/i Magazine

Tyehimba Turner ’16 was part of the first cohort of Peace Corps volunteers allowed into Liberia to restore education systems in the wake of two civil wars and an Ebola crisis. Read more.

May 12, 2020

Concetta Cipriano Gacka ’07 is participating as a designer for RefuSHE’s Fashion Challenge on June 18–20. Concetta's fashion brand, Cettina, is a women's designer clothing line offering made-to-measure cocktail dresses, gowns, and custom bridesmaid dresses. Read more.

May 7, 2020

Kalid Loul MBA ’15 is using the company he founded, GlobalGeeks, to distribute masks to essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kalid contacted Dominican University about a donation and GlobalGeeks sent 2,000 masks to campus. Read more.

May 5, 2020

Nora Wiltse MLIS ’03, teacher-librarian at John C. Coonley Elementary School, was honored with the 2020 Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award from the American Library Association (ALA). Read more.

April 24, 2020

Romney Cirillo ’08, owner of Something Fishy Inc. and Mobile Aquatic Therapy, filmed a video on campus that thanked medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

April 22, 2020

Neil Ehmig BSN ’16, a member of Dominican's first graduating class of nurses, has been picking up extra overnight shifts since his hospital unit transformed into a COVID-19 battleground. He was the subject of an article titled "Healthcare heroes: No stranger to the front lines." Read more.

April 15, 2020

Berto Aguayo '16 has been selected to receive funding for a two-year fellowship with The Chicago Community Trust to deepen the impact of Increase The Peace. Read more.

Amy Affelt MALIS ’93 is the Director of Database Research Worldwide at Compass Lexecon, a global economic consultancy. She is the author of two books and a Fellow of the Special Libraries Association. Read more.

March 23, 2020  

Analú López MLIS ’17, Indigenous studies librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, has been using her “down time” while sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic to live stream videos about treasures from the Ayer American Indian and Indigenous Studies Collection. Read more.

March 19, 2020

Melissa Bernasek MLIS ’06, the director of information and digital services for the Gail Borden Public Library, has been using Facebook Live to reach the library community in Elgin during the COVID-19 outbreak. Read more.

March 12, 2020

Easterseals has named Marcy Traxler MBA '13 Senior Vice President of Network Advancement at its Chicago-based national office. She most recently served as Vice President of Business Development and Service Line Strategy at AMITA Health System. Read more.

March 11, 2020

The Downers Grove Grade School District 58 Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Mariana Nicasio ’04, MAT ’09, MAEA ’13 as the new Indian Trail elementary school principal. Mariana will assume her new role in July. Read more.

March 6, 2020

Stephen Davidson MAT ’09 has been selected as the new principal of IC Catholic Prep, the board of directors announced. He begins the new role on July 1. Read more.

February 15, 2020

Joel Shoemaker MLIS ’16 is the director of the Illinois Prairie District Library in Metamora, Illinois. He has been picked to serve on an international board of advisers of NewsGuard's News Literacy Program, a nonpartisan group that judges the accuracy of news websites. Read more.

January 28, 2020

Samantha Slocum ’18 has been named digital media editor at Zoomba Group, publisher of Foodservice Equipment & Supplies (FE&S) and restaurant development + design (rd+d). She earned a degree in corporate communications from Dominican University. Read more

January 27, 2020 

Michael Starasta MLIS ’06 has been selected as the new Lincoln Library District director. He will start in the position on March 11, 2020. Read more.

January 27, 2020

LaVerne Gray MLIS ’05, assistant professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, has been winning awards for her doctoral dissertation titled, “In a Collective Voice: Uncovering the Black Feminist Information Community of Activist-Mothers in Chicago Public Housing, 1955–1970.” Read more.

January 23, 2020

Kasia Gonnerman MALIS ’​​​​​​03 has been selected as the next dean of Libraries at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, following a national search. Kasia, who is the director of Vanderbilt University’s Central Library, will begin her work at UAB on April 1. Read more.

January 19, 2020

Beth Goncher ’93 will be serving in her position at the chamber as she also consults with her own company, Serenity Lane Enterprises. At her business management consultancy, Beth assists local businesses with developing operations plans to build long-term growth. Read more.

January 2020

As the President of the Konstantinion Research Center, Dr. Ioannis J. Toliopoulos '91 is leading innovative cancer research in Greece. Ioannis has been traveling the world to present on the immunology of cancer. Read more.