SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University alumna Lt. Gov. Jennette Bradley will usher in 2005 with a new state office title, adding to her already impressive political resume. Gov. Bob Taft has appointed Lt. Gov. Bradley to the office of treasurer of state, effective Jan. 3.

Bradley, a 1974 graduate of Wittenberg and current member of the university’s board of directors, made history in January 2003 as the first African-American woman to serve as lieutenant governor in the United States. Bradley also serves as director of the Ohio Department of Commerce.

Bradley will replace fellow Republican Joseph Deters when he leaves the treasurer’s office to become Hamilton Country prosecutor.

As state treasurer, Bradley will be responsible for an office that manages about $140 billion of the state’s finances, including tax payments and state investments. She will also manage the state debt. Her experience as a senior vice president for Huntington National Bank and as a member of Columbus City Council for 11 years prior to her appointment as lieutenant governor makes her well qualified for the post.

In her two-year term as lieutenant governor, Bradley also has been a member of the governor’s Jobs Cabinet, charged with improving the business climate in Ohio. Working with the governor’s Small Business Advisory Council, she has been Taft’s small-business liaison.

As second in command, Bradley represented the state on national news broadcasts and publications during the massive August 2003 electrical blackout, which affected portions of the Buckeye state and many eastern states.

Bradley majored in psychology and has long remained active on Wittenberg’s campus. In addition to returning to her alma mater for board meetings, she served as keynote speaker for the university’s Wittenberg Series-sponsored Opening Convocation for the 159th academic year in September 2003.