Newswise — Nearly 800 people attended this year’s Stritch Annual Awards Dinner, held Nov. 22 at Chicago’s Field Museum.
The Most Reverend Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, made his first public appearance since his installation at the dinner, a celebration of service and fundraiser for medical scholarship at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He remarked that the event is a “joyous tradition of generosity for medical education, and medicine is not just the work of science, but that of love.”
Spanish guardsmen presented the University’s highest honor, the Sword of Loyola, to Dick and Judi Duchossois for their philanthropic efforts.
"Judi and I are thrilled to receive this prestigious honor," Duchossois remarked. “Thank you to Loyola for all you have done and for giving us the opportunity to participate in the great work that you do."
Duchossois, who was called into military service before he could attend college, was presented with an honorary bachelor's degree in business administration from Loyola by President and CEO Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
Stritch alumnus Mike My Lehoang, MD, received the Stritch Medal, the school’s highest honor, for his dedication to advancing health care for the poor. Lehoang, who in his youth fled Vietnam with his family, is responsible for initiating and establishing regular service trips with Stritch students to Vietnam. In 2008, he and his family founded an orphanage in Vietnam, which is now home to 96 young children and 10 expectant mothers.
“I am deeply honored and thankful to receive this Stritch Medal,” Lehoang said. “Medical school taught me the art of medicine: how to diagnose, to treat and to prevent diseases, but Loyola taught me to be a more human doctor.”
The Stritch Junior Service League, comprising 25 Chicago area teens, served as the honor guard throughout the evening, and its members were recognized for their volunteer work at several area non-profit institutions.
As Chicago’s longest-running black-tie gala, the Stritch School of Medicine Annual Awards Dinner has raised millions of dollars for medical education scholarships since its inception in 1950. The 65th annual event is scheduled for Nov. 21, 2015.
RSS