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Former NFLer Ron Carpenter to speak at SUNY Potsdam Nov. 16 as part of diversity program

Posted 11/14/16

POTSDAM – Former National Football League defensive back Ron Carpenter will be on the SUNY Potsdam campus during the week of Nov. 14 as the Super Bowl-winning player opens the college's new "Always …

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Former NFLer Ron Carpenter to speak at SUNY Potsdam Nov. 16 as part of diversity program

Posted

POTSDAM – Former National Football League defensive back Ron Carpenter will be on the SUNY Potsdam campus during the week of Nov. 14 as the Super Bowl-winning player opens the college's new "Always Earned, Never Given" Series, sponsored by the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“With his distinguished background as a professional athlete, football coach and community leader, Carpenter will offer our students invaluable insights on his path to success," said SUNY Potsdam Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Bernadette Tiapo.

The "Always Earned, Never Given" Series was founded at SUNY Potsdam to bring a diversity of guest speakers and role models to speak with students.

Carpenter will give a keynote address at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the Barrington Student Union. Two student groups, Okuma Taiko and the Bear Witness Step Team, will perform. A question and answer session with the audience will be followed by a reception for all.

The event is free and the public is invited.

During his visit Carpenter will also speak to invited groups from across campus, including leaders of student clubs and organizations, student athletes and young men of color.

He will be joined on campus by his wife and sister-in-law, who will lead a discussion with young women of color as part of the new guest speaker series. His wife, Tamara Carpenter, is a senior executive at Angie's List, and her sister, Dr. Velmailia Matthews-Smith, is a hematologist-oncologist at Canton-Potsdam Hospital.

Carpenter played college ball at Miami University before playing with the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings. New York Jets, and St. Louis Rams between 1993 and 1999. Since then he has been coaching with teams such as the Tennessee Titans, the Georgia Force, Central State University, Indiana University, Miami University and the University of Central Arkansas.