California State University, San Bernardino
Dorene C. Dominguez is the chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Construction Management and the Vanir Group of Companies, Inc. Founded by her father, H. Frank Dominguez, in 1964, the company has delivered $25.8 billion in construction value to hundreds of clients nationwide with offices throughout the United States, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Shortly after her father's passing, Ms. Dominguez founded the Vanir Foundation in Memory of H. Frank Dominguez in February 2004. In 2016, the foundation changed its name to The Dominguez Dream.
The foundation 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 foundation is the H. Frank Dominguez Elementary School in San Bernardino which opened its doors in 2014. Named in honor of her father, it is a testament to the family's long history of philanthropy to the community.
An active member of various community improvement projects, boards and commissions, Ms. Dominguez currently serves on the board of directors for Douglas Emmett, KB Home, CIT Group, Catholic Educational Foundation and serves on the Coca-Cola Hispanic Advisory Council. In addition to these roles, she sits 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 the first Latina shareholder in an NBA team as a member of the ownership group of the Sacramento Kings.
Ms. 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.
In recognition of her many accomplishments and extensive contributions to the university and the community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University, and California State University, San Bernardino are proud to confer upon Dorene C. Dominguez the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.