TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Aug 2, 2023

James Warren Bradford, dean emeritus of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, died on July 27. He was 76. Bradford earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt. He served in the U.S. Air National Guard from 1969 to 1975 while stationed at Berry Field. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1997, while serving as CEO of AFG Industries. After earning his law degree, Bradford moved to Kingsport and practiced law at Hunter Smith & Davis from 1973 to 1984. He joined AFG industries Inc. as general counsel in 1984 and was named the company’s CEO in 1992. He left AFG in 1999 to serve as CEO of United Glass Corp. Bradford joined the faculty of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 2002 and was named dean in 2005. He retired in 2013.