Syracuse University will welcome Bill Bradley, former New Jersey senator and NBA Hall of Famer, to speak on the major political crossroads many Americans face today.

Bradley will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Maxwell Auditorium as part of the Tanner Lecture Series on Ethics, Citizenship and Public Responsibility. The lecture is free and open to the public, and there will be a reception after the lecture outside the auditorium.

The lecture also shares the name of Bradley’s upcoming book, ‘We Can All Do Better.’ In the book Bradley discusses the importance of active citizenship and critiques the current position of money in politics, foreign policy, deficit spending, education and other current issues, according to an April 4 Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs release.

‘His life and work exemplify the main themes of this lecture series,’ said Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Maxwell.

The Tanner Lecture Series, funded by an endowment from W. Lynn Tanner, a Maxwell School alumnus, aims to spread conversation and awareness on productive citizenship through public forums, according to the release.

This message of motivating ethics, citizenship and civic responsibility is also supported by Bradley. He dedicated 18 years of his life to public service as a Democratic senator from New Jersey.

After working in the Senate, Bradley aimed to become the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee. However, Al Gore eventually tied up the nomination, according to Bradley’s official website.

In addition to a career in politics, Bradley was also involved in an entirely different field: basketball. Bradley was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and played on the New York Knicks from 1967-77, according to his website.

During his time on the team, the Knicks won two NBA championships, and in 1982, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

‘I am very interested to get to listen to someone with so much experience in government and politics,’ said Bo Stewart, a freshman political science and policy studies major.

Reeher also said he agrees that Bradley is a great addition to the Tanner Lecture Series. He said he hopes Bradley discusses the challenges of being a responsible citizen in both private and public forums, as well as ethics, at the lecture.

‘This is Bradley’s call to action to be more responsible, more civically engaged and active,’ Reeher said. ‘Hopefully this is something that resonates with the students.’

jbundy@syr.edu  

Published on April 9, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jen: jbundy@syr.edu