Mary A. Dempsey
Mary Dempsey has served as President of the Philip H. Corboy Foundation since 2004. The work of the Foundation is devoted to education, arts and culture, social justice, access to the courts and preserving the rights of the disabled.
From 1994 to 2012, she served as Commissioner of the Chicago Public Library. She was appointed to the position by Mayor Richard M. Daley in January 1994 and reappointed Library Commissioner by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in May 2011. The Library is comprised of more than 800 employees in 79 neighborhood locations. Its mission is to promote and preserve intellectual freedom and access to resources to promote lifelong learning and quality of life for all people. Under her direction, 44 new libraries were constructed in Chicago, 13 of which are LEED certified. Also under her direction, all libraries were equipped with state of the art technology including free desktop and WiFi access to the Internet; access to more than 80 online databases; rich book collections; and innovative reading and digital learning initiatives such as One Book, One Chicago and YOUmedia. Under her direction, the Chicago Public Library successfully concluded two strategic plans and in 2011 began development of its next strategic planning effort.
Mary holds a B.A. from St. Mary's University, an M.L.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from DePaul University. She is a past Chair and continues to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of DePaul University and is a past Chair of the Urban Libraries Council.
