FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2007
Media Contact: Priscilla L. Hunter, 312.344.7805, 312.286.6624 (cell) or phunter@colum.edu
A Gala Evening with Dionne Warwick
Chicago, IL—On Saturday, May 12 Columbia College Chicago will bestow an honorary doctorate degree on legendary recording artist Dionne Warwick during the college’s morning commencement ceremonies at Navy Pier.
Later that evening Columbia College President, Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Board Chair, Allen M. Turner and a host of gala committee members and guests will pay tribute to Warwick’s career with A Gala Evening with Dionne Warwick at the Intercontinental Hotel, 505 N. Michigan Avenue.
The evening will begin with a cocktail reception in the Empire Ballroom at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner in the Grand Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. There will be an ongoing silent auction throughout the evening.
Jackie Taylor’s Black Ensemble Theater will provide after dinner entertainment with a performance of “Don’t Make Me Over,” a tribute production of Warwick’s life at 8:30 p.m.
Individual tickets are $500. A table of 10 is $5,000. To purchase tickets call 312.344.7420. Proceeds benefit the future Media Production Center of Columbia College. For further information call 312.344.7287.
Dionne Warwick has, over an illustrious four-decade career, established herself as an international musical legend. Her reputation as a hit maker has been firmly etched into public consciousness, thanks to nearly sixty charted hits since "Don't Make Me Over" began its climb up the charts in December 1962. Dionne Warwick received her first Grammy Award in 1968, and in so doing became the first African-American solo female artist of her generation to win the prestigious award for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance. In recent years, Ms. Warwick's pioneering efforts have focused on leading the music industry in the fight against AIDS. Her Grammy-winning, chart topping, single "That's What Friends Are For," led the way by raising millions of dollars for AIDS research. Ms. Warwick served as the U.S.
Ambassador for Health throughout the 1980s and in 2002 she was named a global Ambassador for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. She has spearheaded production of a history book that will detail African and African-American history for use in schools, libraries and bookstores. She continues her work as a socially conscious and concerned global citizen.
The gala committee members include: Laurel Carter, Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Les Coney, Steve Devick (Chair), Don Jackson, Marcia Lazar, Averill Leviton, Cheryl McKissack, Madeline Murphy Rabb, Sandra M. Reynolds, Shelley Rosen, Allen M. Turner, Lynn Turner and Eric V.A. Winston, Ph.D.
Columbia College Chicago, an urban institution committed to open access, opportunity and excellence in higher education, provides innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded in 1890 as a communications school for women, Columbia College Chicago was revisioned in 1963 as a liberal arts college with a “hands-on minds-on” approach to arts and media education and a progressive social agenda. Under the current leadership of President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D. Columbia is aggressively pursuing this mission. Through the diversity of its students and graduates, the school brings a rich vision and multiplicity of voices to American culture. For further information visit www.colum.edu.