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bradley
Building a Balance:
Adjunct journalism professor, Michael Bradley, shares his Villanova journey
Biography
Freelance writer, radio personality, and sports fanatic, Michael Bradley found his way back home to the Main Line after graduating from The University of Michigan. Bradley has a strong passion for journalism and building connections with students making him a strong fit for his position as an adjunct professor for the Villanova Department of Communication as well as the faculty advisor for The Villanovan, Villanova’s student-run newspaper.
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Following graduation from the Haverford School, Bradley moved to Ann Arbor in pursuit of a degree in economics from The University of Michigan. Upon realizing that his passion did not lie in economics, Bradley changed his major to history and graduated in 1983.
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After graduating, Bradley returned home to the Main Line where he now works as a freelance writer and at Villanova University. At Villanova, Bradley has taught Sports Journalism, Introduction to Journalism, Multimedia Journalism, and Business and Professional Communication. Teaching both Introduction to Journalism and upper level journalism courses allows for one of the most rewarding aspects of Bradley’s career as an adjunct professor. Bradley said: “The part that makes [teaching] rewarding is that every one of the Sports Journalism students that I have, we have 19 in the class [currently], every one of them but one has taken a class with me before. So, I get to know them further, both as students but also as people and that makes it more enjoyable for me as a professor.”
“I have to represent the University, but at the same time I have to let the students feel like they have the autonomy to put out the best product they can.”
Name, Title
In addition to teaching courses in journalism, Bradley is the faculty advisor for The Villanovan. As advisor for The Villanovan, Bradley works to find a balance between representing the University and letting the student editors have freedom to produce the best product they can. When asked, Bradley said, “I have to represent the University, but at the same time I have to let the students feel like they have the autonomy to put out the best product they can. The way to do that is to build relationships with them so that I can have some conversations that might be a little difficult and it doesn’t seem like I am saying to them, wagging a finger at them, saying ‘don’t do this’ or ‘don’t do that.’”
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Bradley explained that being able to sit down with students allows him to develop strong relationships with them. This allows for more natural conversation about content and helps the students to find a balance between complying with University standards while maintaining journalistic freedom.
In addition to teaching at Villanova, Bradley has taught at St. Joseph’s University and Neumann University. While he worked at all three universities for some time, Bradley now teaches exclusively at Villanova. Bradley said this is largely in part due to the culture at Villanova. “I like the students, I like the perspectives they bring, I like the Communication department, it’s got a very good collegial feel among faculty and that’s very helpful. As an adjunct, often times you come in you teach your class you come home, but I’ve been made to feel very welcome and part of the staff and faculty by this group which makes it more rewarding for me” Bradley said. In addition to his work at Villanova, Bradley has written 32 books and is a host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia’s sports radio station.