Students from throughout the Great Lakes Colleges Association will gather at Hope College on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 19-20, for the GLCA Students of Color Leadership Conference.
The conference will feature the theme "Reclaiming Our Virtues." Approximately 200 students are anticipated for the event.
Following registration and an opening event, the conference will feature a dinner with a keynote presentation by Gail Perry-Mason, who is first vice president of investments with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. She is author of the book "Money Matters for Families" and co-author of "Girl, Make Your Money Grow!: A Sister's Guide to Protecting Your Future and Enriching Your Life." She serves on numerous boards and has received several awards, including being named one of 2007's Top 10 Michigan Business Women by the Greater Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Friday's activities will conclude with a book-signing and networking events.
Activities on Saturday will include multiple presentations and workshops featuring guest resource people and professionals from a variety of fields as well as students.
Saturday will open with a plenary session featuring Floyd Brady, a 1968 Hope graduate who is a special assistant to the dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is also director of the Rev. Dr. H.B. Brady Foundation. Brady's career has included serving in the past as senior vice president of CNA Insurance and president of the CNA Insurance Companies Foundation, and as vice president of INROADS Inc. In October 2005, he was a featured keynote speaker during the dedication celebration for the college's MarthaMillerCenter for Global Communication, presenting "The Wind Beneath Your Wings - Buckle Up."
Additional sessions during the day will include a lunchtime keynote presentation by Dr. John Lee, a licensed psychologist who is coordinator of the Multi-Ethnic Counseling Center Alliance at Michigan State University; two sets of concurrent workshops led by professionals including a lawyer, entrepreneur, surgeon, law enforcement specialist, educators and business executives; and presentations featuring students.
The conference has been organized by a six-student committee at Hope that includes: senior Hilary Cason of Detroit (conference co-chairperson); sophomore Julian Hinson of Eagan, Minn. (special task assistant); junior Leticia Parker of Holland (conference co-chairperson); junior Anedia Pineda of Holland (registration coordinator); junior Allison Smith of Gary, Ind. (program coordinator); and senior Rosemarie Villarreal of Saginaw (publication coordinator). The conference advisor is Vanessa Greene, who is director of multicultural education at Hope.
The GLCA consists of 12 selective private liberal arts colleges located in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The members of the consortium are Albion College, Antioch College, Denison University, DePauw University, Earlham College, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wabash College and The College of Wooster.