Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, will serve as the Wells Fargo Distinguished Speaker for the 2003 UNLV Foundation Annual Dinner on April 5 at the Bellagio.

Each year this invitation-only event honors the university's major donors and members of the President's Inner Circle, Academic Corporate Council, and President's Associates who annually provide support to enhance academic and scholarship programs at UNLV.

"We are honored to have Madeleine Albright as the speaker for this special occasion. She joins a long list of distinguished guests who have served as keynote speakers for this event in the past," said Kitty Rodman, chair of the UNLV Foundation's Special Projects Committee that organizes the event annually. "We are pleased that she accepted our invitation to help us recognize the many individuals and corporations who generously support the university with their time and resources. This dinner is the UNLV Foundation's opportunity to show how much we appreciate their support."

The UNLV Foundation will pay special tribute to the inductees of the Palladium Society, the UNLV Foundation's honorary organization that recognizes donors who have contributed $1 million or more in lifetime gifts to the university. This year, the UNLV Foundation welcomes into the Palladium Society Ernest A. and Mary Becker, Jean Nidetch, Wells Fargo Bank, and the UNLV Alumni Association.

"On behalf of the UNLV Foundation, I am pleased to welcome these new members into the Palladium Society and to have the opportunity to honor them for the commitment they have shown UNLV over the years," said UNLV Foundation Board Chairman Michael O. Maffie. "These individuals and corporations join a distinguished group of valuable supporters who share UNLV's mission of teaching, research, and public service. With their help, UNLV is making great strides in academic excellence."

Wells Fargo Bank, a long-time UNLV supporter, is sponsoring Albright's appearance as part of the distinguished speaker's program.

Albright served as the 64th secretary of state of the United States. She was the first woman to be appointed to that position and is the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. Government.

As secretary of state, Albright reinforced America's alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor, and environmental standards abroad.

A staunch supporter of education, she was the first Michael and Virginia Mortara Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. She was also the director of Women in Foreign Service Programs and research professor of international affairs at Georgetown, as well as the first distinguished scholar at the William Davidson Institute of the University of Michigan School of Business.

Albright became a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution following an international competition in which she wrote about the role of the press in political changes in Poland during the early 1980s.

Albright is the founder of the Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm. She earned her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College with honors in political science. She also studied at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, received a certificate from the Russian Institute at Columbia University, and earned her master's and doctorate degrees from Columbia University's department of public law and government.

Invitations to the event were mailed in early March. About 700 of Nevada's top professionals, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders attend this special dinner presentation.