The Honorable Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Treasurer of the City of Chicago to Keynote Chicago State University Commencement

CSU’s Commitment to Equity in Communities is Focus of Treasurer Conyears-Ervin Selection as Commencement Keynote

CHICAGO (May 5. 2022) – Chicago State University is pleased to announce the Hon. Melissa Conyears-Ervin, City Treasurer of the City of Chicago as the keynote speaker at the University’s 369th Commencement on May 12, 2022. In 2019, Treasurer Conyears-Ervin made history by being the first female elected to the Office of Treasurer for the City of Chicago who was not previously appointed.

In making the announcement, CSU President Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott, Esq. stated “We are pleased that Treasurer Conyears-Ervin accepted our invitation to address our graduating class. Her professional record of advancing equity for Chicago’s minority communities through her leadership as Treasurer and in the General Assembly are key points of interest to our campus community.”

Conyears-Ervin is a former State Representative for the 10th District. During her time as a State Representative she advocated for the promise of opportunity and strength of families to effectively address the needs of Chicago communities.

Before being elected as a State Representative, she gained more than 15-years of experience in the insurance industry as an executive for Allstate and CS Insurance Strategies, gaining insight into the challenges in the diverse and vibrant City of Chicago.

As City Treasurer, she is the only city-wide elected official sitting on all four pension boards and has utilized her private-sector and financial experience to increase economic development in Chicago’s neighborhoods by raising awareness of systemic issues that result in racial inequities.

About the Treasurer’s Office

The City Treasurer’s Office is the custodian and manager of all cash and investments for the City of Chicago, the four City employee pension funds, and the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund. Additionally, the Treasurer’s Office manages a number of programs that promote financial education and small business growth in Chicago’s neighborhoods. The Treasurer is one of three city-wide elected officials in the City of Chicago, with the Mayor and the Clerk being the others.

In May 2019, Melissa Conyears-Ervin made history when she was sworn in as City Treasurer for the City of Chicago, the first African-American woman ever to hold the position without prior appointment. As City Treasurer, she is committed to using a positive, results-oriented approach with city departments. She works to restore the public’s trust in government–good government–that works for the people and applies an equity lens to all of the office’s programs and outreach.

About Chicago State University

CSU, founded in 1867, is the oldest public university in the Chicago Metropolitan area. The University’s five colleges offer over 70 undergraduate and graduate degree-granting and non-degree programs. CSU is committed to equity in education, serving as the only U.S. Department of Education-designated four-year Predominantly Black Institution in Illinois and ranked by a Harvard economist in the top 4% of public and private universities nationwide in supporting our graduates’ economic mobility. The University serves as a prominent civic space on the greater South Side of Chicago by hosting a multitude of athletic, educational, cultural, and recreational activities. The University is located near public transit that provides convenient access to the campus.