California State University, Sacramento

Dorothy Stevens Enomoto has spent generations fighting hard for the rights of women and minorities. She was the first African American woman to manage a California Department of Corrections institution, the Women's Civil Addict Unit at the California Rehabilitation Center; and the first African American woman to hold the position of Deputy Director in the California State Department of Corrections.

Mrs. Enomoto has generously dedicated countless hours of time, encouragement and love to her community and has been recognized as one of the ten outstanding women honored by the Sacramento History Museum as a "Woman in History." She received the Touching Lives Award from the Sacramento YWCA and the BridgeBuilder Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council, and has been inducted into the African American Criminal Justice Hall of Fame.

A woman of extraordinary courage in the face of adversity, she left an abusive marriage and worked several jobs to raise her three daughters, one terminally afflicted with sickle cell anemia.

Without the opportunity to complete her college education, much of what Mrs. Enomoto has taught her community comes from her work and life experiences growing up as an African American woman in turbulent times. She is praised by those who know her as someone who is willing to share and teach others that tolerance and respect are the foundations of communication that help us to understand one another.

In recognition of her many accomplishments and contributions to her community, the Board of Trustees of The California State University and California State University, Sacramento are proud to confer upon Dorothy Stevens Enomoto the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.