(Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)
FRANK VENEGAS, we marvel at your extraordinary journey from humble origins to a career as a prominent entrepreneur, philanthropist, and leader for social responsibility.
As the grandson of Mexican immigrants and the son of an autoworker, you started your career as a floor sweeper. Your exceptional motivation soon won you promotions. But then you won a 1979 Cadillac in a raffle, and that’s where your story really took off. You sold the car and leveraged your new-found capital to start a company, Ideal Steel, which is now a $250 million dollar enterprise that employs more than 500 people.
You have dedicated your career to making the Ideal Group companies leading-edge performers and you have brought economic prosperity to areas of urban decay. You have created a business culture that hires people with strong potential and helps stabilize neighborhoods by providing career opportunities. While modeling these values, you formed a rewarding connection with the Tuck School of Business, and have subsequently sent scores of your employees to the same Minority Business Executive Program from which you graduated.
Yours is a practical and inventive career, built on the belief that all individuals are capable of success, regardless of background. Your vision is giving Detroit’s underprivileged Hispanic youth a running start in higher education.
For your generosity and comprehensive engagement in education, youth programs, and Detroit’s Hispanic community organizations, we are proud to award you the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
President Philip J. Hanlon
Dartmouth College