California State University, San Bernardino announced that Dorene C. Dominguez will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at its spring Commencement for the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, scheduled for May 20 at 2 p.m. at Toyota Arena in Ontario.

“Conferring an honorary doctorate upon Ms. Dominguez, in recognition of her profound impact and dedicated service to California, would be a great honor for CSUSB,” said university President Tomás D. Morales. “As an anchor institution in the region, we would be remiss not to recognize her long-lasting contributions to business, education, social justice and to the Hispanic community not only in California, but also nationally.”

“I’m deeply honored and grateful by this prestigious recognition from California State University, San Bernardino and President Morales,” said Dominguez. “As a Latina and San Bernardino native, this recognition brings my family and I great pride. I hope to serve as an inspiration to others in our community as well as the graduates of the class of 2023. It has been a privilege to serve and be part of the San Bernardino community throughout the years and continue business and philanthropic endeavors.” 

Dominguez is the chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Construction Management and the Vanir Group of Companies, Inc since 2004. The companies were founded by her father, H. Frank Dominguez, in 1964 in San Bernardino. Dorene Dominguez has successfully positioned Vanir as a national leader in Program, Project, and Construction Management, and Real Estate Development, delivering $25.8 billion in value to clients across the United States. Headquartered in Sacramento with 22 offices nationwide, Engineering News Record has ranked Vanir number 32 in the nation for Construction Management firms.

Dominguez founded The Dominguez Dream 501(c)3 in memory of her late father, in February 2004. The Dominguez Dream is committed to empowering children in underserved communities to achieve their full potential through literacy, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), social-emotional learning and parent engagement programs. Among the 12 schools receiving steadfast support from The Dominguez Dream is the H. Frank Dominguez Elementary School in San Bernardino, which opened its doors in 2014.

An active member of various community improvement projects, boards and commissions, Dominguez currently serves on the board of directors for Douglas Emmett, KB Home, and Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program Advisory Board. In addition to these roles, she serves on the board of trustees for the University of Notre Dame and is the former chair of the advisory council of the university’s Institute for Latino Studies. She is also a board member of PRIDE Industries, which helps people with disabilities retain jobs and independent lifestyles.

Dominguez is the first and only Latina to be a Governor of an NBA team and is a shareholder of the Sacramento Kings.

Dominguez is the recipient of numerous awards including the Inland Empire Hispanic Leadership Council’s Legend Award in 2015, the Cardinal’s Award in 2019 and the 2022 Angel Award from the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders. In 2016, she was honored as Hispanic Lifestyle’s Latina of Influence and was among the Association of Latino Professionals for America’s Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas in 2020.

Dominguez is home grown with a high school diploma from Colton High School. Dominguez graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in finance and holds a certificate in Corporate Governance from Harvard University.