Bill Bradley, an Olympic gold medalist and NBA basketball player who went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate, will give the 2008 Shilling Lecture at Southwestern University. The lecture will be held Monday, April 21, at 7 p.m. in the Alma Thomas Theater.

The title of the lecture will be “The New American Story… Including Nine Questions to Ask Before Voting for President.”

New American Story is the title of Bradley’s latest book, published in March 2007, which offers a review of current politics and a collection of ideas to improve major policy issues, such as the way we elect presidents.

A native of Missouri, Bradley began playing basketball in fourth grade. He was a basketball star at Crystal City High School, where he scored 3,068 points in his scholastic career and was twice named All-American. With stellar academic credentials as well, he received 75 college scholarship offers. Bradley turned down the scholarship offers to attend Princeton University, where he was a three-time All-American basketball player and graduated with honors with a degree in American history. Bradley’s remarkable tenure at Princeton was the subject of a 1965 book, A Sense of Where You Are. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a graduate degree after studying politics, philosophy and economics.

Bradley went on to be a star professional basketball player for the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1977. During that time the Knicks won two National Basketball Association championships. In recognition of his contribution to the sport, Bradley was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Bradley was elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1997. He was perhaps best known for sponsoring the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which significantly cut tax rates while abolishing dozens of loopholes. After retiring from the Senate, Bradley unsuccessfully opposed Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2000.

Today, Bradley is a managing director of Allen & Company LLC and a member of the Board of Directors of Starbucks. He also has a radio show American Voices on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Bradley has authored six books on American politics, culture and economy. In 1996, Bradley authored a best-selling memoir, Time Present, Time Past, about his life as a Senator and his travels throughout the country. In the fall of 1998, his book of basketball inspired essays, Values of the Game, was published and went on to be a New York Times best seller, and his book about being a professional basketball player on the road in America, Life on the Run, has become a sports classic since it was first published in 1976. Bradley also authored The Journey From Here and The Fair Tax.

The Shilling Lecture Series at Southwestern University was established in 1999 by The Brown Foundation Inc. of Houston to honor Southwestern’s 13th president, Roy B. Shilling Jr., and his wife, Margaret. The series brings to campus internationally prominent speakers on topics relating to ethics, public service and public policy. Past speakers include James Baker III, Thomas Kean, Benazir Bhutto, Desmond Tutu, Bill Moyers, President Jimmy Carter, Marian Wright Edelman, William Sloane Coffin, John McGuire and Karen Hughes.

Simulcast viewing of the lecture will be available in the F.W. Olin Building, room 110. For more information, call the University Events office at 512-863-1483.