A timely and relevant keynote speaker, Harry Edwards is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley; distinguished scholar in the Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin; and a staff consultant with the San Francisco 49ers. He has written extensively on the connections between race, sport, and society. Edwards has appeared on nationally syndicated television shows and documentaries while traveling extensively to perform public engagements. He is the author of "The Struggle That Must Be: An Autobiography," "The Sociology of Sports," "The Revolt of the Black Athlete," and countless articles on race, sports, and the sociology of sport in books, academic, and popular press. Edwards is a graduate of San Jose State University and received a master’s degree in sociology from Cornell University where he was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. He also received a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell, where he helped to found United Black Students for Action and the Olympic Project for Human Rights. In addition to teaching race relations, he has served as a special assistant to the commissioner of Major League Baseball to help increase representation of minorities and women in baseball, and he has worked with the Golden State Warriors, specializing in player personnel counseling and programs.