Dr. Linda Bradley

Assistant Vice President and Director of the UCF Daytona Beach campus, University of Central Florida

Educational Background:

Florida State University, Ph.D.
Higher Education

Ohio State University, Advance Studies
Guidance and Counseling

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, M.S.
Student Personnel Administration

St. Augustine's College, B.A.
Sociology/Social Welfare

Editor's Note: Read the UCF Press Release announcing Dr. Bradley's appointment.

By Karen Serrano

“Love what you do!” These are the words that Dr. Linda Bradley lives by daily.

Dr. Bradley, born in Jackson, Tennessee, began her student affairs career in residence life. Her first professional job was with The Ohio State University in the Grants department. She helped faculty locate and write grants, but decided to move in a new direction. She had her first child and relocated from Columbus, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas, where she worked at a small college in student services. While there, she served in Student Activities as the Interim Director and was the Dean of Women for residence life.

After having her second child, Dr. Bradley, moved to Tallahassee, Florida, and worked at Florida A & M University in Women’s residence life. She went to Florida State University as a full time doctoral student and was able to maintain amazing balance while in graduate school. She was a full time student and parent. While working on her doctoral program, Dr. Bradley had her third child. Through her dedication and love for her work, Dr. Bradley graduated in December 1987.

Upon completing her degree, she began her professional journey. She started her career as a Policy Analyst and worked in the Governor’s Office in Tallahassee. She worked in policy development and later as a budget analyst under Governor Gramm and Governor Martinez. Her responsibilities included working with university budgets, budget analysis and developing recommendations for the Governor’s Office. Dr. Bradley advises, “Every Higher Education Professional needs experience in budget and Excel. The experience in the Governor’s Office was very valuable and helped me move to the next level.”

After five years in state government, Daytona Beach, Florida, was summoning her husband to a new job and once again Dr. Bradley and her family relocated. She found work at Bethune-Cookman College and served as an Assistant Professor teaching Educational Psychology. She was also the Director of Testing, an office that provided services to students taking exams such as the GRE and CLAST.

After three years, Dr. Bradley was ready for a new adventure. She saw a job in The Chronicle for an Assistant Dean position at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She thought it would be a great position to apply for, but didn’t think she would end up moving to Nashville. Fortunate for Vanderbilt, she took the position and was the Assistant Dean for the Graduate School for three years. She directed activities related to graduate admissions and recruitment. Through her diverse experiences and passion for higher education, colleagues were calling her back to work in state government with the Speaker of the House, specifically working with the Higher Education Committee as a staff director.

Dr. Bradley came back to Tallahassee until 1996 when she was conducting a presentation on performance based budgeting and was approached by an individual from Tennessee. This individual presented an opportunity she couldn’t refuse. Dr. Bradley was hired as the Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission (similar to the former Board of Regents in Florida) and was the Chief Academic Officer for the Commission in Tennessee. She served in this capacity for 10 years, but knew that she really needed to follow her heart and do what she loved most. Dr. Bradley knew she wanted to be on a campus working as a senior level administrator. She saw a position in the Chronicle and put her house on the market. She knew she wanted this job and planned to get it!

In April of 2007 Dr. Linda Bradley moved back to Daytona Beach, Florida, as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and Director at the University of Central Florida, Dayton Beach Regional Campus. Daytona was a good place for her. She still knew the people in the area and she would be working with a small enough campus where she could get to know the students. Daytona just “Felt right.”

Dr. Bradley attributes much of her wonderful experiences to the opportunities she had at Florida State. “FSU was the best educational experience I have ever had. Our program felt like a family and the faculty cared about our success. When we walked out of those classrooms, we understood the good, bad, and ugly. When we got into leadership in Higher Education, there were no surprises. The faculty really wanted us to understand outside of the theory, the reality of Higher Ed.”

“In the Mid 80’s to late 80’s women were not in very many leadership roles, Melvene Hardee took every woman under her wing. She was very direct about what we would face. She said to be assertive, no whining, present ourselves as professionals and experts. There was a very strong mentorship relationship with faculty if you wanted it and we would run into people all the time at conferences.” She expressed appreciation for Dr. Hardee and Dr. Allan Tucker. “He (Dr. Tucker) was my conscience and he made sure I finished that dissertation. They both enhanced my self confidence.” Dr. Bradley wrote her dissertation on the life satisfaction and adjustment levels for retired faculty of the four oldest universities in the state.

With an incredible variety of experience under her wing, I had to ask Dr. Bradley for advice. I really felt a connection with her since my Graduate Assistantship is with state government. She provided these wise words:

Get a wide variety of experience (you’re gonna be working a long time).
Get experiences on the student services side, academic side, financial side, policy side of Higher Education. Every job requires you to know all aspects of it. You never know when you will have to pull on those skills. Do not get pigeon holed in one area of student life.
Participate in conferences and network, network, network. Don’t burn bridges and communicate with people you meet, you never know who will end up on your search committee. It is a small world.
Most of all LOVE what you do.


				Dr. Linda Bradley Assistant Vice President and Director of the UCF Daytona Beach campus, University of Central Florida Educational Background: Florida State University, Ph.D. Higher Education Ohio State University, Advance Studies Guidance and Counseling University of Tennessee, Knoxville, M.S. Student Personnel Administration St. Augustine's College, B.A. Sociology/Social Welfare Editor's Note: Read the UCF Press Release announcing Dr. Bradley's appointment. ## By Karen Serrano “Love what you do!” These are the words that Dr. Linda Bradley lives by daily. Dr. Bradley, born in Jackson, Tennessee, began her student affairs career in residence life. Her first professional job was with The Ohio State University in the Grants department. She helped faculty locate and write grants, but decided to move in a new direction. She had her first child and relocated from Columbus, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas, where she worked at a small college in student services. While there, she served in Student Activities as the Interim Director and was the Dean of Women for residence life. After having her second child, Dr. Bradley, moved to Tallahassee, Florida, and worked at Florida A & M University in Women’s residence life. She went to Florida State University as a full time doctoral student and was able to maintain amazing balance while in graduate school. She was a full time student and parent. While working on her doctoral program, Dr. Bradley had her third child. Through her dedication and love for her work, Dr. Bradley graduated in December 1987. Upon completing her degree, she began her professional journey. She started her career as a Policy Analyst and worked in the Governor’s Office in Tallahassee. She worked in policy development and later as a budget analyst under Governor Gramm and Governor Martinez. Her responsibilities included working with university budgets, budget analysis and developing recommendations for the Governor’s Office. Dr. Bradley advises, “Every Higher Education Professional needs experience in budget and Excel. The experience in the Governor’s Office was very valuable and helped me move to the next level.” After five years in state government, Daytona Beach, Florida, was summoning her husband to a new job and once again Dr. Bradley and her family relocated. She found work at Bethune-Cookman College and served as an Assistant Professor teaching Educational Psychology. She was also the Director of Testing, an office that provided services to students taking exams such as the GRE and CLAST. After three years, Dr. Bradley was ready for a new adventure. She saw a job in The Chronicle for an Assistant Dean position at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She thought it would be a great position to apply for, but didn’t think she would end up moving to Nashville. Fortunate for Vanderbilt, she took the position and was the Assistant Dean for the Graduate School for three years. She directed activities related to graduate admissions and recruitment. Through her diverse experiences and passion for higher education, colleagues were calling her back to work in state government with the Speaker of the House, specifically working with the Higher Education Committee as a staff director. Dr. Bradley came back to Tallahassee until 1996 when she was conducting a presentation on performance based budgeting and was approached by an individual from Tennessee. This individual presented an opportunity she couldn’t refuse. Dr. Bradley was hired as the Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission (similar to the former Board of Regents in Florida) and was the Chief Academic Officer for the Commission in Tennessee. She served in this capacity for 10 years, but knew that she really needed to follow her heart and do what she loved most. Dr. Bradley knew she wanted to be on a campus working as a senior level administrator. She saw a position in the Chronicle and put her house on the market. She knew she wanted this job and planned to get it! In April of 2007 Dr. Linda Bradley moved back to Daytona Beach, Florida, as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and Director at the University of Central Florida, Dayton Beach Regional Campus. Daytona was a good place for her. She still knew the people in the area and she would be working with a small enough campus where she could get to know the students. Daytona just “Felt right.” Dr. Bradley attributes much of her wonderful experiences to the opportunities she had at Florida State. “FSU was the best educational experience I have ever had. Our program felt like a family and the faculty cared about our success. When we walked out of those classrooms, we understood the good, bad, and ugly. When we got into leadership in Higher Education, there were no surprises. The faculty really wanted us to understand outside of the theory, the reality of Higher Ed.” “In the Mid 80’s to late 80’s women were not in very many leadership roles, Melvene Hardee took every woman under her wing. She was very direct about what we would face. She said to be assertive, no whining, present ourselves as professionals and experts. There was a very strong mentorship relationship with faculty if you wanted it and we would run into people all the time at conferences.” She expressed appreciation for Dr. Hardee and Dr. Allan Tucker. “He (Dr. Tucker) was my conscience and he made sure I finished that dissertation. They both enhanced my self confidence.” Dr. Bradley wrote her dissertation on the life satisfaction and adjustment levels for retired faculty of the four oldest universities in the state. With an incredible variety of experience under her wing, I had to ask Dr. Bradley for advice. I really felt a connection with her since my Graduate Assistantship is with state government. She provided these wise words: Get a wide variety of experience (you’re gonna be working a long time). Get experiences on the student services side, academic side, financial side, policy side of Higher Education. Every job requires you to know all aspects of it. You never know when you will have to pull on those skills. Do not get pigeon holed in one area of student life. Participate in conferences and network, network, network. Don’t burn bridges and communicate with people you meet, you never know who will end up on your search committee. It is a small world. Most of all LOVE what you do.