MSU Alumni Association presents
Kaleidoscope A Day for Women
Friday, April 16, 2010
Kellogg Center

The Kaleidoscope event at the Kellogg Center is sold out.

For information on an extended Kaleidoscope event at the University Club please call 517-432-9459.

Keynote Speaker

SARAH FERGUSON
Mother; Businesswoman; Advocate; Philanthropist; Author

Sarah Ferguson first stepped on to the world stage in 1986 when she married Britain’s Prince Andrew, second son of Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke and Duchess of York have two daughters, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York (age 21) and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York (age 19). The Duke and Duchess’s 10-year marriage ended amicably in 1996 and they remain close as friends and co-parents. 

Sarah is widely admired for her “comeback spirit” and for overcoming formidable obstacles including divorce, near-bankruptcy, hostile press, family tragedy, and more, to succeed as a single working mother and career woman working in business, advocacy, publishing, broadcasting, film, public speaking, and philanthropy.

Sarah is the founder of two international charities: Children in Crisis (based in London); The Sarah Ferguson Foundation (based in New York).

Sarah is a bestselling author who has published 27 books including two autobiographies and titles dealing with health, empowerment, history, art, as well as popular children’s stories.

Herself the subject of countless media interviews Sarah Ferguson has also found success in her own right as a reporter and presenter. In America she is a special correspondent for NBC’s Today Show and she has presented television specials on ABC, FOX, and CNN. In Britain Sarah has presented and co-produced documentaries for ITV, BBC, and Sky TV.  A newcomer to film Sarah created the film treatment for the major motion picture Young Victoria, a period romance based on the early life of Queen Victoria. Subsequently scripted by Julian Fellows (Gosford Park) and produced by Martin Scorsese, Young Victoria debuted in London in early 2009.

Sarah devotes much of her time to promoting wellness and children’s causes.  For 10 years she was the US spokesperson for Weight Watchers International and today she continues to speak out about obesity and healthy lifestyle. Sarah serves as Global Advocate for Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) and The White Ribbon Alliance.  She also supports public health campaigns by organizations such as the American Heart Association; the American Cancer Society; the National Heart and Lung Institute; Avon’s Hello Tomorrow Fund; and the Ophelia Project; Sarah previously served as Global Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

In the UK Sarah, The Duchess of York, is patron to the Teenage Cancer Trust; Tommy’s – The Baby Charity; The African Caribbean Leukemia Trust; the Motor Neurone Disease Association; The Chemical Dependency Centre; Carr-Gomm; The Daisychain Foundation; and Springboard for Children.

Sarah enjoys fitness training, writing, sketching, and photography. She is also a licensed private pilot.

Opening Session Speaker

ELLIOT ENGEL
SCHOLAR/AUTHOR/PLAYWRIGHT 

Professor Elliot Engel is considered the most insightful, personable, and entertaining academic lecturer to come out of academia in the last fifty years. His witty, engaging speaking style imparts hard, factual information, leaving his audiences virtually spellbound, yet charmed by periods of laughter and flashes of insight. Using anecdotes, analysis, and large doses of humor, he gives new insights into the backgrounds, accomplishments, and lives of the great masters of English and American literature.

Published in both Great Britain and the US, Engel is the author of seven books including, A Dab of Dickens & A Touch of Twain: Literary Lives from Shakespeare's Old England to Frost's New England.  His articles have appeared in numerous magazines, including Newsweek. As one of the most sought after and beloved speakers on literature, his mini-lecture series on his favorite literary hero, Charles Dickens, appeared on PBS stations nationwide.

As a professor, Engel has taught courses at Duke University, NC State University, and University of North Carolina. For his scholarship and teaching, he has received North Carolina’s Adult Education Award and the Victorian Society Award of Merit.

Welcome Speaker

SHERI JONES
NEWS ANCHOR 

A veteran member of the Kaleidoscope Committee, Sheri Jones will serve once again as our program hostess.

An honors graduate of Michigan State University, Jones began her news career at 6 News as a news intern and soon became mid-Michigan’s first female crime beat reporter.

Jones now anchors the 5, 6 and 11 o’clock news shows and for more than a decade has lead WLNS 6 News’ exclusive affiliation with the Crimestoppers program. The program has earned her several awards, including honors from the Associated Press, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, the Central Michigan Crime Prevention Association, and for four years in a row, the top media award from the Crime Prevention Association of Michigan. In 2002, Sheri was awarded the Crime Victim’s Rights for Michigan Outstanding Advocate. In 2006 she received the ATHENA Award for her outstanding community service by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.

She is currently very active in a number of community groups, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club of Lansing and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She also is an advocate for Child and Family Services Capital Area, specifically Angel House, a temporary shelter for abused and neglected children in the greater Lansing area.

Click here to see pictures from the 2009 event
Click here to see pictures from the 2008 event
Click here to see pictures from the 2007 event