Commencement

Commencement Speakers

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  Graduate and Undergraduate Commencement Speaker: JoAnn Chávez , Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, DTE

  JoAnn Chávez is senior vice president and chief legal officer for DTE Energy. She is responsible for the management and strategic direction of DTE’s office of the general counsel and she advises DTE’s board of directors and senior management on legal and related matters. She also oversees ethics and compliance, corporate security, corporate emergency management and tax. She has been with the company since 2007. 

  Prior to joining DTE, Chávez served as an international tax partner for KPMG LLP. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame. 

  A strong advocate for young people, Chávez founded the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative (MiHC), a nonprofit that focuses on economic equity and provides opportunities for first-generation Hispanic students, like herself, to graduate from college.  

  Chávez serves on the boards of directors for the DTE Energy Foundation, the Cristo Rey Network and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute boards of directors. She also sits on the Notre Dame Law School and the University of Michigan School of Education Advisory Councils. She is the past chairwoman of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and was appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the state of Michigan Women’s Commission. 

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  School of Dentistry Speaker: Barbara Purifoy-Seldon ’70, ’73

  Barbara Purifoy-Seldon '70, '73, is a distinguished academic and community leader, who started her journey at Cass Technical High School in Detroit in 1961.

  She served in the U.S. Army until 1964 and became the University of Detroit’s first black alumna in dental hygiene. Her commitment to diversity led her to help develop the University’s diversity philosophy and provide diversity training to faculty, staff and students.

  Seldon earned multiple UDM faculty excellence awards and is a notable figure in dentistry, holding various leadership positions and appointments in professional dental organizations, the Michigan State Board of Dentistry and the Northeast Reginal Board of Dental Examiners.

  She is dedicated to promoting diversity, inclusion and peace and has served in leadership roles for many community initiatives, including the MLK Task Force, Inc. Her innovative traveling exhibition, "Pathways to Freedom," chronicles the experiences of slaves who traveled to Mexico for their independence and contributed significantly to the inclusion of Afro-Mexicans on the country's census in 2020.

  Seldon uses her community involvement to encourage future generations, regularly visiting Detroit's middle and high schools to promote dentistry careers.

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  School of Law Speaker: The Hon. Michelle Rick '91 Michigan Court of Appeals

  The Honorable Michelle Rick '91 was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals bench in November 2020 and represents the 4th Judicial District. She served as a trial judge for the 29th Circuit Court from 2007-20. Rick worked briefly as a private practitioner before transitioning to a career in public service. That service included working as an assistant prosecutor, a senior assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan, and deputy legal counsel to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.   

  She serves as an adjunct professor at Detroit Mercy Law. In 2019, Rick launched a traveling expungement clinic with the Detroit Mercy Law clinical program. Project Access visited six rural northern Michigan counties, helping residents with the process of expunging convictions. In 2020, the State Bar of Michigan awarded Rick the Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award for this project. 

  Rick is a district director for the National Association of Women Judges. In 2022, she was awarded the Vaino Spencer Leadership Award by the group. 

  She is an officer of the Michigan Judges Association and a member of the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Council, a member of the Michigan Bar Association Limited Scope Representation work group, and she serves as an advisor to the State Bar Affordable Legal Services committee. Judge Rick is also a committee member of the State Bar Corrections and Prisons section.