Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Photo courtesy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Robert Tjian, president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md., and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California-Berkeley. Photo by Barbara Ries

Edward Minskoff, president of Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc., a New York-based real estate acquisition and development company. Photo courtesy of Mark Terman

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Regarded as a leader of the global breast cancer movement, Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will be one of three speakers for Michigan State University's December commencement ceremonies.

Ceremonies will be held Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, One Birch Road. Brinker will speak at 2 p.m. Dec. 12 and will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. She will address undergraduates from the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Natural Science, Nursing and the Lyman Briggs College.

Brinker founded the nonprofit group in 1982 after her sister, Susan G. Komen, died from breast cancer. It is now the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, operating in 125 American cities and several foreign countries.

The organization's trademark fundraising event is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a series of 5K runs and walks around the world. Each year, more than 1.5 million people participate in 130 races around the world. Thanks to such races, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has generated more than $1.3 billion, the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. Last spring, the organization celebrated the 20th anniversary of the First National Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C., while also celebrating the birth of the first Global Race for the Cure.

The announcement of Brinker's visit to campus comes as a team from MSU's Breslin Cancer Center has been awarded nearly $40,000 to develop a clinic for the survivors of breast cancer, hoping to reduce mortality and improve quality of life. The grant, from the Mid-Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will support a new program called "Changing Tomorrow's Breast Cancer Survivors."

The multidisciplinary MSU team will consist of a medical oncologist, oncology social worker and nurse educator. Survivors will talk to members of the team, focusing on healthy lifestyles and recommendations to avoid recurrence.

"I am honored and delighted at the opportunity to address Michigan State University's class of 2009 at the December commencement ceremonies," Brinker said. "As one of the nation's premier institutions of higher learning, MSU is recognized worldwide for the excellence of its curriculum and for the noteworthy contributions Spartan alumni have made in so many important fields of endeavor."

In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded Brinker the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. That same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nation's World Health Organization. Brinker has also served as ambassador to the Republic of Hungary.

"As we remember those who have lost their battle with breast cancer and those who continue to fight, it's an honor to welcome Nancy G. Brinker to our campus," said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. "Susan G. Komen for the Cure's steadfast dedication to breast cancer research parallels MSU's commitment to engaging in meaningful research that affects thousands of lives."

Other commencement speakers

Other commencement speakers include Robert Tjian, president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md., and Edward Minskoff, president of Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc., a New York-based real estate acquisition and development company.

Tjian will speak at the advanced degree ceremony Dec. 11, where he will receive an honorary doctor of science degree.

He studies the biochemical steps involved in controlling how genes are turned on and off. An HHMI investigator since 1987 and a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California-Berkeley, Tjian discovered proteins that play a critical role in controlling how genetic information is transcribed and translated into the biomolecules that keep cells, tissues and organisms alive. Since becoming HHMI's president in April 2009, he has continued to be actively engaged in research, maintaining a laboratory at UC Berkeley and at HHMI's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Va.

Minskoff will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony Dec. 12. He will address undergraduates from James Madison College, the Eli Broad College of Business and the colleges of Arts and Letters, Education, Music and Social Science. He will receive an honorary doctor of business degree and also holds an economic degree from MSU.

Most active in the Manhattan, N.Y., office building market, Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc. recently acquired Marriott Corp.'s 866,000-square-foot world headquarters and developed a 240,000-square-foot office building for the Federal Aviation Administration. Other acquisitions include a 1 million-square-foot IBM building and Avenue of the Americas office buildings in New York City. Prior to founding his company in 1987, while at Olympia & York, Minskoff was responsible for 16 projects that yielded 23 million square feet and an estimated development cost of $3.5 billion.

For more information about MSU's commencement ceremonies, visit http://commencement.msu.edu.

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