Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The youngest son of President Gerald Ford, now a motivational speaker and advocate for substance abuse awareness, will be featured Feb. 2 in a free program at Mississippi State.
Steve Ford will deliver the 2009 Dorothy Martin Lectureship in Values and Ethics, to begin at 8 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. Launched in 2005, the lectureship is a recurring special event sponsored by the university chapter of Delta Gamma, a women's social fraternity.
Martin lectureships are national outreach efforts of the Columbus, Ohio-based DG Foundation, with support from the Paul Martin family of Akron. Held at MSU and other campuses, they seek to educate students and local community members on the value and importance of ethical conduct in their personal and professional lives.
Ford's life since the White House years in the mid-1970s has included a professional acting career. Now 52, he also serves on the board of trustees for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation in Grand Rapids, Mich.
At the urging of relatives, he has taken time off from Hollywood to share with others how his family dealt with his mother Betty's publicaly acknowledged alcoholism. In addition to explaining prices to be paid for bad personal choices, his remarks include positive steps that can lead to a life of character, integrity and boundaries.
Aided by video clips and photographic slides, his talks have been described as a mix of MTV, The History Channel and "Book of Virtues."
Ford has been a cast member on the Emmy Award-winning daytime television drama, "The Young and the Restless." Other times in front of the camera have included roles in such movies as "When Harry Met Sally" and TV shows "JAG" and "Secret Service."
For more information on the 2009 Martin Lectureship, contact Jessica Hubbard at 662-323-5158 or 323-7814, ext. 160.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.