Alumna Dorothy Brown Cook inducted in National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame

Southern University alumna Dorothy Rabb Brown Cook today will be inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in the field of law. Each year, the organization honors alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities for their significant contributions made in their respective fields. This event promotes the viability of HBCUs and highlights the accomplishments of their alumni.

 

Cook was elected as the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, in 2000, and was re-elected to four additional terms, making her the longest-serving person in that position, and the longest-serving Black person serving in a county-wide executive elected office in that county. She retired from elected office in November 2020. 

 

Cook cites the 1971 killings of Southern University classmates Leonard Brown and Denver Smith — amid peaceful student protests turned violent when armed law enforcement came to the campus — as a catalyst for her passion to make a difference in civil rights.

 

Cook graduated magna cum laude from Southern in 1975. She was number one in the College of Business and number four in her entire graduating class. In 1981, she received her Master in Business Administration degree with honors from DePaul University in Chicago. In 1996, she received her juris doctor degree with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

 

Joining Cook for the 36^th annual National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame induction are:

 

Athletics:        

Gregory L. Lloyd Sr. – Fort Valley State University

 

Business:        

Tyrone A. Burroughs – Benedict College

 

Civil Right:      

Melanie L. Campbell – Clark Atlanta University

 

Community Service:

Gerald K. Harris Sr. – Dillard University

 

Education:      

Adena Williams Loston  — Alcorn State University

 

Faith:              

Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Murriel — Jackson State University

 

Government:

Retired Major General John F. Phillips — Jarvis Christian College

 

Medicine:       

Alvin V. Blount, Jr. — North Carolina A&T University

 

Science:          

Valerie L. Thomas — Morgan State University

 

Lifetime Achievement:          

Lorene K. Robinson — Delaware State University

 

Lifetime Achievement:            

Anne R. Gayles-Felton — Fort Valley State University

 

Lifetime Achievement:

Lauretta Hasty Holloway — North Carolina Central University

 

Chairman’s Award:

Alden J. McDonald  Jr. — Dillard University

 

The ceremony will be streamed live on the  National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame website and social media channels beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT.