Tom Bradley and Roger Williams to Speak at the Penn State Alumni Association - Greater Pittsburgh Chapter 110th Anniversary

Friday, April 11, 2008

Tom Bradley, Defensive Coordinator for the Penn State Nittany Lions, will appear as the keynote speaker for the Penn State Alumni Association: Greater Pittsburgh Chapter's 110th Anniversary.

Tom Bradley is in his 30th season with Penn State Footabll and his ninth supervising the one of the nation's top defenses. He also is in his 13th year working with the cornerbacks after eight years coaching the outside linebackers and defensive ends. The 2007 defense again was ranked in the Top 10 nationally in rushing and scoring defense and sacks and has four consecutive Top 15 finishes in total and scoring defense. The Lions posted two shutouts and held seven teams to 17 points or less in 2007. In 2006, 10 teams scored 17 points or less on the Lions. The 2007 defense ranked first or second in the Big Ten in rushing, total and scoring. Bradley, who has played a large role in the success of the defense and recruiting efforts during his tenure, has helped develop four All-Americans in the secondary and cornerback Justin King was first team All-Big Ten in 2007. Bradley was a football letterwinner at Penn State in 1977-78, a graduate assistant in 1979 and became a full-time staff member in 1980. In addition to the defensive backs, Bradley also has coached five other positions, coordinated the special teams and served as recruiting coordinator, bringing numerous prep standouts to Penn Staters throughout his tenure. Shane Conlan, O.J. McDuffie, Kim Herring, David Macklin, Bryan Scott and Alan Zemaitis are among the PSU standouts he has coached. Bradley was football and basketball captain at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, Pa.

Also speaking at the 110th anniversary will be Roger Williams, the Executive Director of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Roger L. Williams is executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association, a post he assumed in June 2003. With 159,831 members, his organization is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the U.S. The Penn State Alumni Association seeks to connect alumni to the university and to each other, to provide valued services to members, and to support the teaching, research, and service mission of the university.

At the Alumni Association, Williams’ strategic priorities have been: membership growth; better support of alumni relations at Penn State campuses other than University Park; increased support of alumni programs and affiliate groups; more attention to young alumni and students (alumni-in-training); legislative education and advocacy; increased diversity; a stronger presence in key metropolitan areas; revenue generation; and a strengthened relationship with Intercollegiate Athletics.

Previously, Williams served as associate vice chancellor for university relations at the University of Arkansas, where he was responsible for the public relations, communications, and marketing functions of that institution. In 2001 his operation won the CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Medal for Overall Institutional Relations in addition to the Bronze Medal for Excellence in Science and Research New Writing (2001 and 2002.)

Williams has 25 years of experience in higher education public relations. Prior to Arkansas, he served as executive director of consulting services for Dick Jones Communications; as associate vice president for communications at Georgetown University; and as assistant vice president for university relations at Penn State, where his operation won the CASE Grand Gold in Overall Institutional Relations in both 1991 and 1992.

He also is an affiliate associate professor of higher education at Penn State. He is author of 30 published articles and chapters and one book: The Origins of Federal Support for Higher Education: George W. Atherton and the Land-Grant College Movement (1991). He served as editor of the communications section in the CASE Handbook of Institutional Advancement (2000). He also serves on the editorial board of the scholarly journal History of Higher Education Annual. More recently, he was one of four editors of Future of the American Public Research University (2007, SensePublishers)

He holds three degrees from Penn State: a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in journalism, and a doctorate in higher education.


The 110th "Birthday Bash"will take place at PNC Park on June 19, 2008 beginning at 6:00 pm.

For more information about this event, please contact President Dan Byrd at dan@1byrd.com.