Photo credit: Erik Melvin
Tracee Ellis Ross, the award-winning actress, producer, founder, and CEO, will deliver the keynote address during ߲ݴý University’s annual Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend on Friday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. in ߲ݴý Memorial Chapel.
The lecture, sponsored in part through the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at ߲ݴý, will be open to the public and stream live online. Details and ticket information will be made available at colgate.edu/ACIWeekend in the weeks ahead.
For eight seasons, Ross starred in the ABC comedy black-ish and on the UPN/CW show Girlfriends. She will next be seen in season 7 of the Netflix series Black Mirror, and she is in post-production on her Roku original series, Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross.
Ross has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award, nine NAACP Image Awards, and the 2020 People’s Choice Awards “Fashion Icon Award.” She was named a Disney Legend for making an extraordinary contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Ross received honorary doctorates from Spelman College in 2023 and Brown University, her alma mater, in 2015.
Outside of her acting career, Ross is also the owner, founder, and co-CEO of PATTERN Beauty, the global multi-million dollar brand she created for the curly, coily, and tight-textured community in 2019.
The Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at ߲ݴý, launched in 2007 and sponsored by ߲ݴý’s Parents’ and Grandparents’ Fund, is an opportunity for the University to invite thought-provoking leaders to campus. Past lecture series speakers have included poet Amanda Gorman; Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph; ballerina Misty Copeland; President Joe Biden; and the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
߲ݴý’s Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend program also includes a Thought Into Action entrepreneur showcase, student performances, and other events. Arts, creativity, and innovation is a centerpiece of ߲ݴý’s Third-Century Plan, linking programs across the curriculum. For more information, visit .