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Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak at Whitworth University President’s Leadership Forum Oct. 9

April 8, 2014

Wells Fargo Bank is title sponsor for the event

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the featured speaker of Whitworth University’s fall President’s Leadership Forum, held on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 12:00 p.m., at the Spokane Convention Center. Costs for this event are $60 per person or $600 for a corporate table. Lunch is included. RSVP by registering online at www.whitworth.edu/leadershipforum.

From 2005-2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. She was the second woman and first African American woman to hold the position. Rice was also the first woman to serve as National Security Advisor; she held that post from 2001-2005, also under President Bush.

“We are thrilled to welcome Condoleezza Rice to Whitworth University and to Spokane,” says Whitworth President Beck A. Taylor. “The depth of her experience within the White House and higher education, and her expertise in history, economics and political science, will provide the Whitworth and Spokane communities with intriguing perspectives on important issues in our world.”

Whitworth University benefits greatly from the considerable support of the Spokane community, and the President’s Leadership Forum provides an opportunity to give back, according to Taylor. The biannual forum draws key national leaders to the Inland Northwest to provide wisdom and insight on a variety of contemporary issues.

Rice served as Provost of Stanford University from 1993-1999, during which time she was the institution’s chief budget and academic officer. As Provost, she was responsible for a $1.5 billion annual budget and the academic program for 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students. Rice is currently the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution; and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. She is also the founding partner of RiceHadleyGates LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

Rice is the author and co-author of numerous books, including two bestsellers: No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington and Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family. Other titles include Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft, with Philip Zelikow; The Gorbachev Era, with Alexander Dallin; and Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army.

Rice currently serves on the board of C3, an energy software company and Makena Capital, a private endowment firm. She also serves on the boards of the George W. Bush Institute, the Aspen Institute, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver; her master’s from the University of Notre Dame; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has been awarded 10 honorary doctorates. She currently resides in Stanford, Calif.

Wells Fargo Bank is the title sponsor for this event. Ed and Bea Schweitzer have graciously donated transportation for Dr. Rice for the fall 2014 President’s Leadership Forum. Other executive partners for this event are, Avista, Greater Spokane Incorporated, Larison & Associates, Moss Adams, Peter J. Elliott – Northwestern Mutual, STCU, Telect, Whitworth Softball and Vandervert Construction.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Michelle Drennen, assistant director of development – advancement events, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4974 or iaevents@whitworth.edu.

Lucas Beechinor, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or lbeechinor@whitworth.edu.