May 11, 2011 – The University of Utah’s Board of Trustees has approved the hiring of Martha Bradley, dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah (the U), to the position of associate vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of Undergraduate Studies, effective July 1, 2011. She will take over for John Francis, who is stepping down from this position after serving for 16 years.

“A true champion for education on all fronts, Dean Bradley brings thoughtful insight and unparalleled leadership experience to this position,” says University of Utah President Michael K. Young. “She has shown exemplary vision as dean of the U’s Honors College, helping it grow from a promising initiative to a college with the level of prestige befitting a program of impressive caliber. I am confident that her unique leadership skills and incomparable love for learning will serve us all very well in her new role in Academic Affairs.”

Bradley is a historian who specializes in the history of Utah, gender and community. She is past-president of the Mormon History Association and has been honored for her teaching with the University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award, the Student’s Choice for Excellence in Teaching Award, the University Professorship, the Bennion Center Service-Learning Professorship, the Park Fellowship and the Borchard Fellowship.

Besides research interests in community and gender, Bradley’s teaching explores innovative pedagogies, in particular the scholarship of civic engagement. She serves as vice-chair of the board of directors for both the Utah State Board of History and the Utah Heritage Foundation.

In her new position, Bradley will play a key role within central administration, reporting to Senior Vice President David Pershing, where she will be part of his academic leadership team, as well as serve on the Council of Academic Deans. She will act as a primary counselor to both Pershing and the university president on undergraduate issues. Some of the areas Bradley will oversee or on which she will offer guidance include transfer initiatives, curriculum administration, the Honors College, continuing education, international education and other student programs.