More than 800 well-wishers from the city's
civic, corporate and legislative communities turned up to honor Jacoby
D. Dickens, chairman of Seaway National Bank, for his generous support
for higher education at the 6th Annual Friends of Chicago State University
Award Dinner recently. The dinner raised a record $999,000 for student
scholarships and technology enhancements at CSU.
Guests included Illinois Senate Minority
Leader Emil Jones Jr.; Cook County Board President John Stroger; Illinois
Secretary of State Jesse White; State Senators Lisa Madigan and Barack
Obama; Federal Judge Blanche Manning; State Reps. Monique D. Davis and
Constance A. 'Connie' Howard; Alderman Freddrenne Lyle; Chicago Urban League
President James W. Compton; Rev. Willie Barrow, board chair, Rainbow/PUSH
Coalition; Illinois Poet Laureate and Distinguished CSU Professor Gwendolyn
Brooks; Don Perkins, retired chair of Jewel Companies; Joseph E. Jannotta,
Jr., retired chairman, Wright/Jannotta Bray; Cordell Reed, retired senior
vice president, Commonwealth Edison; noted physician Niva Lubin; and Chicago
Park District Commissioner Dr. Margaret Burroughs.
Combining wit and humor, Emmy-award-winning
TV anchor Robin Robinson of FOX News Chicago emceed the stellar evening.
Joset B. Wright, president of Ameritech Illinois, served as dinner chair.
Guests broke into enthusiastic cheers when
Katey Assem, CSU Foundation executive director, announced that the fund
raiser exceeded its $500,000 goal by raising $999,000. Honoree Dickens
predicted that the dinner proceeds would eventually total more than one
million dollars. Dickens, who had donated more than one million dollars
to CSU in the past, received a special presentation from University President
Elnora D. Daniel for making the largest gift in the school's history. She
described Dickens as a legend and CSU benefactor. "Jacoby is an embodiment
of quiet generosity. He is a gentleman in the true sense of the word,"
Daniel said. CSU Board of Trustees Chair Lubin also described Dickens as
"the most treasured person, a man whose commitment and generosity to CSU
has been blessed with him."
In response to the speeches and a video
presentation hailing him, Dickens noted that he is "CSU's first honoree
in the new millennium." Asserting his love for CSU, he said amid cheers,
"In my life, I have made many investments, but CSU ranks at the top of
all my investments." Dickens said he is motivated to assist needy CSU students
who cannot afford the cost of education. "We want to help our students
to achieve the American dream," he said. Turning to the audience, he proposed
that the Annual Friends of CSU Award Dinner be renamed the Annual CSU Stockholders
Dinners. "Each person here has an investment in the past, present and future
of CSU," he said.
Guests were treated to a delightful dinner
against the background of stimulating musical selections rendered by James
Hendericks, a former member of the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra,
Jakube Felton and Roxanne Stevenson, all of CSU's Music Department. Popular
tunes such as "My Funny Valentine," "All the Things You Are," and "Stella
by Starlight" filled the evening air.