Troy, N.Y. - Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumnus, will deliver a lecture on "The Ethical and Academic Challenges of College Sports" on Friday, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. on the Rensselaer campus.

The event, which will be held in room 3303 of Rensselaer's Russell Sage Laboratory building, is free and open to the public.

In 2003, Brand was named president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Prior to joining the NCAA, Brand served as president of Indiana University (IU). He is credited with guiding IU toward a balance between teaching and research that stood out among its peer schools. A former chair of the American Association of Universities, he sparked media attention and healthy national debate about the role of athletics in higher education during his tenure at IU.

In a speech earlier this year at the National Press Club, Brand said that "intercollegiate athletics can be a vital force in America's culture, exemplifying the positive spirit and values of our way of life," but he also expressed his strong belief "that academics must come first."

With degrees in philosophy from Rensselaer ('64) and the University of Rochester ('67), Brand entered academia as a professor, gradually moving his role to administrator. In addition to serving as president of IU, Brand held the position of chair of philosophy at the University of Illinois-Chicago, elevating the department's rank to among the top 10 in the nation. He then served as dean of arts and sciences at the University of Arizona, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Ohio State University, and president of the University of Oregon.

Brand also will join Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson for an Alumni Appreciation Ceremony at half-time of the Rensselaer vs. Coast Guard football game on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. on ‘86 Field.

Brand's lecture is the first in the Humanities@Rensselaer lectures for 2003-2004, sponsored by Rensselaer's School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A