Last spring, the MSU Leadership Institute hosted internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery. Flannery spoke to an audience of over 900 students and community members. He presented a straightforward and powerful explanation of the connection between climate change and human activity. He spoke to his listeners-both personally and politically-about recognizing that we are all “weather makers” and that the only choice, both logically and ethically, is to begin to address the problem before it's too late.

In March of 2006, the MSU Leadership Institute hosted Paul Rusesabagina, real life hero of the film Hotel Rwanda. Ten years ago, as the country of Rwanda descended into madness, one man made a promise to protect the family he loved, and ended up finding the courage to save over 1200 people as a hotel manager in Rwanda. Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed in of almost 1500 about his experience, his ongoing support of Rwanda, the genocide in Darfur and current issues in international humanitarian aid.

In 2005, students also heard mountain climber Dr. Ken Kamler, who lectured to almost 1300 attendees on his book, "Surviving the Extremes." As vice president of the legendary Explorers Club, veteran of Mount Everest ("Into Thin Air" attending physician), NASA consultant, surgeon and storyteller, Kamler has climbed, dived and trekked through some of the most treacherous and remote regions of the world. Kamler discussed what happens when human bodies are pushed to their limits. In his multimedia presentation, Kamler explored the human body's reactions to heat, cold, pressure, starvation, exhaustion and exposure, and he revealed the human body's miraculous survival strategies. His lecture took the audience on a scientific nail-biter that goes beyond "reality" TV and proves what survival really entails.

Also in 2005, Salman Rushdie spoke to almost 1500 attendees in the Strand Union Ballrooms at MSU. Salman Rushdie is considered one of the most prominent novelists of the late 20th century, both for his literary achievements ("Midnight's Children" won the Booker Prize for Fiction) and for the controversy surrounding them. For almost ten years following the publication of his book, "The Satanic Verses," Rushdie was forced into hiding, the result of the infamous fatwa (death threat) fromIran's Ayatollah Khomeini. His most recent book, "Step Across This Line: Collected Non-Fiction 1992-2002," explores his own reaction to the fatwa, as well as the reaction of the media and various governments. In his lecture, Rushdie drew upon his personal history to make bold statements about modern life, and in particular, the violence and terror in daily headlines. Rushdie is president of American PEN, an honorary professor in the humanities at MIT and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.