Ball State alumna Betsy Ross will discuss gender issues in male-dominated fields such as sports during a 7 p.m. March 5 lecture at the Pittenger Student Center, Cardinal Hall A and B.

A former ESPN News and SportsCenter anchor, Ross was one of the first women to break into national sports news. Now she is president of Game Day Communications, a Cincinnati-based public relations firm specializing in sports and entertainment that she founded in 2002.

Ross will offer her insights into how gender issues can cause problems in effective leadership and advice about maintaining high standards while remaining gender neutral. The program is part of Student Life's Excellence in Leadership lecture series, which is free and open to the public.

Ross received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Ball State in 1972 and a master's degree in speech pathology from the University of Notre Dame. She worked at WLWT, an NBC affiliate in Cincinnati for seven years and covered such events as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 1996 presidential election.

Ross was an ESPN anchor for five years before returning to Cincinnati to start Game Day Communications. She remains active in sports broadcasting and reporting in the Cincinnati area.

She is a member of the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame and has received the university's Benny Award, Journalism Outstanding Alumni Award and Distinguished Alumni Award. Most recently, she joined the Ball State Foundation Board in 2004.

Ross' original Feb. 12 appearance was rescheduled because of the weather.

For more information, contact Aimee Ash, associate director of Student Life, at (765) 285-3476 or aeash@bsu.edu.