Former President, First Lady of Mexico
To Speak at Alma College
September 24, 2008
Vicente Fox, president of Mexico from 2000 through 2006, will be the keynote speaker for the 2008 Robert D. Swanson Responsible Leadership Speaker Series at Alma College.
Joining him will be his wife, Marta Sahagun de Fox, president of Vamos Mexico Foundation, who will speak with Alma College students about her leadership experiences.
Their presentations at Alma College will take place Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. The evening’s keynote address by Vicente Fox in Cappaert Gymnasium will be free and open to the public.
“We are so pleased that former President Fox and his wife Marta will be our 2008 speakers,” said Alma College President Saundra Tracy. “Vicente Fox is credited with extensive leadership accomplishments both as a corporate leader and as Mexico’s president. Mrs. Fox is well known for her leadership on issues of social responsibility and human rights.
“Their unique shared experiences and global perspectives promise an exciting event for the campus and wider community,” she said.
The Swanson Responsible Leadership Speaker Series brings prominent leaders to campus for discussions on related topics. Past speakers include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2007 and former presidential candidates and U.S. Senators Robert Dole and George McGovern in 2006.
The speaker series is part of the Alma College Center for Responsible Leadership, which encompasses a large network of leadership-development opportunities for all Alma students, regardless of academic major or degree.
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When Vicente Fox was elected to the presidency of Mexico in 2000, he broke the stranglehold that the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party had held on the country for seven decades. A charismatic reformer, Vicente Fox is credited as playing a vital role in Mexico’s democratization and with strengthening the country’s economy. During his tenure, President Fox succeeded in controlling inflation and interest rates and in achieving the lowest unemployment rate in all of Latin America.
In his book, Revolution of Hope, President Fox outlines a new vision of hope for the future of the Americas. He speaks out forcefully on hot global topics like immigration, the war in Iraq, racism, globalization, the role of the United Nations, free trade, religion, gender equity, indigenous rights and the moral imperative to heal the global divide between rich and poor nations.
Marta de Fox is known as a powerful voice on women’s issues and social responsibility. She has been effective in her support of a wide array of social causes, including involvement in one program that reduced the incidence of physical handicaps in Mexican newborns by 70 percent. She has helped provide access to computers to underprivileged youth, and has chaired numerous organizations that work on behalf of women, children, healthcare and education.
As president of the Vamos Mexico Foundation, Marta de Fox inspires the vision of the organization, which is to enable Mexicans and Mexican Americans, in the U.S. and in Mexico, to overcome poverty, live in safe cities and towns, and have access to healthcare, jobs and resources that enable them to take care of themselves and their families.
