Former
New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley was on campus fall semester of 1998, teaching a
course on American politics. He also presented five public lectures on societal issues and
hosted a town meeting on "The State of
America's Children."Former
New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley was on campus fall semester of 1998, teaching a
course on American politics. He also presented five public lectures on societal issues and
hosted a town meeting on "The State of
America's Children."
A Democrat, Bradley was first elected to the Senate in 1979; he retired in 1997. Since then his activities have included serving as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland and at Stanford University and acting as an essayist on the CBS Evening News. He decided at the end of 1998 to mount a campaign for president.
At Notre Dame, Bradley held a visiting professorship in public affairs, established through an anonymous gift. He led five sessions of a one-credit class (government professor John Roos led four other sessions). Each class meeting lasted 90 minutes. The class enrolled 34 students chosen by a combination of a lottery and essay competitions.
Bradley described the course as a search for meaning in politics, his goal being to make students consider
-- and debate -- issues they may not have thought seriously about before. Students were required to attend his public lectures then write brief reaction papers for discussion the following class session.In the case of his lecture promoting a heightened U.S. military presence abroad, the class reaction was largely one of disagreement. But the former first lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves challenged students:
"You are the president. How do you respond to cases, especially where there's a violation of human rights or even genocide?"The former senator, who was escorted to and from class by a personal security guard, said he hoped to give students an insider
's, real-life perspective on such matters as foreign policy. Oftentimes foreign policy decisions require consideration of a potential military threat, he said, but the danger can be overestimated. After listening to many students say they believed China should be a concern, he said, "It bewilders me why people say China is a threat." The country's economy is decades behind, he said, and its military is stuck in the 1960s or '70s.Bradley said he was drawn to Notre Dame by a desire to teach at a Midwest university. He also is acquainted with Notre Dame president Father Malloy, CSC, a fellow scholar-athlete.
After graduating from Princeton in 1965, Bradley received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. He earned a graduate degree there after studying politics, philosophy and economics. He was a three-time basketball All-American at Princeton and went on to play 10 years for the National Basketball Association
's New York Knicks.Bradley had been to Notre Dame before, addressing the men
's basketball team in the '70s and the Board of Trustees in the '80s.In addition to the class and public lectures, Bradley lectured in the law school on judicial appointments and met with theology professors to discuss ramifications of faith in political life. After the November elections, he reviewed the outcome with the Young Republicans and College Democrats. He also addressed the Board of Trustees and couldn
't resist going by and saying hello to the basketball team.--
Meredith W. Salisbury