JACKSON, Tenn. — May 15, 2009 — Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the keynote speaker for 51社区鈥檚 12th annual Scholarship Banquet Oct. 20 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in Jackson, Tenn.
鈥淲hat a privilege it will be to welcome Dr. Condoleezza Rice to 51社区 this fall,鈥� Union President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淚n her roles as the former provost at Stanford University and most recently as secretary of state for the United States, Dr. Rice has distinguished herself as a brilliant leader in the fields of education, government and public policy. She is a terrific speaker and I am confident that the 2009 Scholarship Banquet will be one of our best yet.鈥�
Rice is the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science at Stanford University. From January 2005 to 2009, she served as the 66th U.S. secretary of state. Before serving as America鈥檚 chief diplomat, she served as assistant to the president for national security affairs (national security adviser).
Rice joined the Stanford University faculty as a professor of political science in 1981 and served as Stanford University鈥檚 provost from 1993 to 1999. She was a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution from 1991 to 1993 and returned to the Hoover Institution after serving as provost until 2001. As a professor, Rice won two of the highest teaching honors: the 1984 Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 1993 School of Humanities and Sciences Dean鈥檚 Award for Distinguished Teaching.
She has authored and coauthored several books, including 鈥淕ermany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft鈥� (1995), with Philip Zelikow; 鈥淭he Gorbachev Era鈥� (1986), with Alexander Dallin; and 鈥淯ncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army鈥� (1984).
The annual Scholarship Banquet has become one of the premier events in West Tennessee each year, and is Union鈥檚 primary fund raising event for its student scholarship fund. Previous speakers have included George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Rudolph Giuliani and Colin Powell, among others.
All told, Union鈥檚 Scholarship Banquets have generated about $4.5 million for student scholarships.
This year鈥檚 lead and premier sponsors include BancorpSouth, Keith and Beverly Absher, Roy and Martha White, Black and Decker, First Bank, Jack and Zan Holmes, The Jackson Sun, Jack and Faye Porter, West Tennessee Healthcare, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and David and Lanese Dockery.
Sponsorship opportunities are available at all levels. For ticket information, including table sponsorships and individual balcony seating, contact Union鈥檚 Office of University Relations at (731) 661-5050.