By By Adam Prestridge
The future is bright for the youth of Alabama.
Bradley Byrne, chancellor of the Alabama Department of Post Secondary Education, made that clear Thursday night as guest speaker during the Youth Leadership Class of 2008 graduation ceremony at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Byrne touched base on the recent announcement of ThyssenKrupp steel mill and Northrop Grumman’s plan to build America’s new refueling tanker, the KC-45, in Mobile. Byrne also stressed the importance of at least a two-year degree to obtain the skills needed to gain employment with the many up and coming industries.
Byrne was born and raised in Mobile where he attended University Military School. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, magna cum laude, and his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. He practiced law in Mobile for more than 25 years, primarily in the areas of business and employment litigation.
Byrne was appointed by the Alabama State Board of Education in May of 2007 to serve as Chancellor of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, in which role he serves as the chief executive officer of Alabama’s two-year college system. The Alabama College System includes 21 community colleges, four technical colleges, Marion Military Institute, Athens State University, the Alabama Industrial Development Training Institute and the Alabama Technology Network. With a total budget of nearly $1 billion, the Alabama College System served more than 300,000 people in the 2005-06 academic year.
Graduates included, Chase Amerson, Alaina Arnold, Alan Ash, Brooke Bell, James Brooks, Katie Coon, Sara Beth Davis, Chelsea German, Nicholas Johnson, Blake Kirk, Ryan Lambert, Seth Lassiter, Joy Marshall, Emily Moore, Andrea Nall, Gordon Nichols, Morgan Robinson, Cody Vickrey and James Webster.