MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative

Considered more than just a two time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times and credited with almost single-handedly bringing the Darfur genocide crisis to the world’s attention, Nicholas Kristof will speak at MSU on Monday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. in MSU’s Strand Union Ballrooms.

“Parks’ view is that leaders are formed gradually, over time and through deliberate effort – not merely born with special traits,” says Griffin Stevens, a MSU Leadership Institute staff member and one of the event organizers.

Conventional thinking tries to sell an MBA as a magical passport to climb the career ladder en route to a bigger salary. While an MBA gives technical knowledge of current business practices and theory, it cannot teach leadership. And with our current economic crisis, its narrow focus is insufficient.

We tend to get more objective feedback on our technical skills (test scores, metrics, instant results) than we do on the “soft stuff”.

"What our data showed is that they are stacking the deck against women right from the start."

Carmen McSpadden, director of the MSU Leadership Institute, one of the sponsors of Penn’s appearance, said he met with about 30 leadership and film students earlier in the day. It was important for students to hear what he had to say about diversity and service, she said, and to know that “you can have a career … and also serve your country.”

“With an actor’s grace and an activist’s unbridled passion, Penn will tell the story of how visionaries are working to broaden the racial and cultural experience in movies and on television,” says Carmen McSpadden, Director of the MSU Leadership Institute and a sponsor of the lecture.

"Give back… contribute… make life better." —Carmen McSpadden

John Prendergast, formerly an adviser in the White House and U.S. Department of State, is known for speaking frequently and powerfully about inhumanity in Africa’s war-torn nations.

Designed to challenge students to discover their leadership potential through course work and a variety of experiences. Equipped with critical and ethical thinking skills, these students can become agents of positive change in society.