PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University has announced that author, sportswriter and commentator Howard Bryant, KLN '91 will deliver the keynote address at the college’s winter graduation ceremony on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
“It is a fantastic surprise and an incredible honor to be asked to be the keynote speaker for the Winter Graduation ceremony,” Bryant said. “It means a great deal to be able to celebrate all the graduates in their moment.”
Howard Bryant is the author of 10 books and has contributed essays to 16 others. He joined Meadowlark Media in 2021, is an executive producer for HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas and has been a senior writer for ESPN since 2007. In 2017, Bryant served as the guest editor for the Best American Sports Writing anthology. In addition, he has served as the sports correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday since 2006. Previously, Bryant worked at the Washington Post, the Boston Herald, The Record (Hackensack, NJ), the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune.
“Howard is both a gifted writer and a superb reporter,” said Klein College Dean David Boardman. “His explorations of the nexus of sports, race and society are stellar, and I have no doubt he will leave our new graduates both inspired and challenged.”
Bryant has won numerous awards. He is a three-time finalist for the National Magazine Award for commentary and earned the 2016 Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. The Heritage was the recipient of the 2019 Nonfiction Award from the American Library Association’s Black Caucus and the Harry Shaw and Katrina Hazard Donald Award for Outstanding Work in African American Studies awarded by the Popular Culture Association. He is also a two-time Casey Award winner for best baseball book of the year, and was a 2003 finalist for the Society for American Baseball Research Seymour Medal.
In addition, Bryant has appeared in several documentaries and served as a consultant for Baseball: The Tenth Inning, Jackie Robinson, Hemingway, and Muhammad Ali, all directed by Ken Burns; Major League Legends: Hank Aaron, produced by the Smithsonian and Major League Baseball; and College Behind Bars, directed by Lynn Novick.
Klein’s graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 15 at 3 p.m. at the Temple Performing Arts Center. Tune into the celebration on Klein’s YouTube channel.
About Klein College of Media and Communication
Klein College of Media and Communication shapes media and media-creators through a dynamic combination of academic rigor and practical training in the context of a diverse urban media market.
Klein fosters media solutions, innovation and discourse through its manifold research faculty and faculty-practitioners who represent a wealth of industry knowledge, theoretical and field research and groundbreaking technology. With this variety of thought coursing through the college, discussions are always held at the cutting edge of the ever-changing communication industry. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, faculty and students are able to directly apply this knowledge to one of the nation’s largest media communities.
Klein aims to educate students to be ethical, critical and inventive leaders, producers and citizens in a multimedia and multicultural society. When Klein students graduate, they have not only acquired a variety of skills and abilities, but have become discerners of truth and meaning prepared to bring precision and creativity into the workplace.