Right time. Right place. Right Cardinal.

THE EARLY AFTERNOON SKY of Oct. 10 was so crisp and clear it could have been used as inspiration for a sky-blue crayon. Below, a cyclone of Cardinal red grandstands surrounded a growing crowd on the grass-green turf of L&N Stadium there to celebrate the inauguration of the University of Louisville’s new president, Gerry Bradley.

But what well-wishers that exceptional autumn day couldn’t have known was that before March of this year, the thought of being president had never crossed his mind.

Or that despite his more than 30 years of success in dentistry and orthodontics, Bradley never planned on being a dentist initially either. Or even an American citizen – though he’s been in the United States longer than his native Ireland.

“The irony is that I became an American citizen on St. Patrick’s Day,” Bradley said.

While spending a late-September afternoon discussing Bradley’s life and career in his sunny Grawemeyer Hall office outfitted for collaboration (the bulk of the space is occupied by a large conference table), an interesting dichotomy becomes clear about the man – he’s ambitiously determined, yet willing to see where life takes him.

“I’ve followed my arc through the situations I’ve been in,” Bradley said, explaining that university president and provost are roles he essentially happened into along the way of his academic career. He was happy as a dentist and professor. And happy being dean for the UofL School of Dentistry. In fact, the dental school’s dean position is the only job Bradley has ever formally applied to at UofL.

“I never planned these things, but when I saw them as opportunities, I took them because my head and my heart were telling me, ‘This is good, this is what you should be doing,’ ” Bradley said. “The lesson here is to do what you love doing, and I’ve never taken a job I didn’t love doing.”

THAT CHARACTER TRAIT OF BRADLEY'S to nimbly take risks could stem from his Irish childhood. Born to nurse Mary and electrician Ted in the Irish Midlands before moving to Cork at age seven, Bradley lived with his family in what he calls a “working-class neighborhood.” But education was always top of mind for his parents, who moved their son from a local state school to an all-boys academy with greater prospects at age 12. In Ireland, educational and professional interests are prescribed at a young age through a series of secondary school exams that determine where you go to study – and what you study.

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“I had to decide at age 14 whether I wanted to continue to study history and Latin or if I should go into the sciences. I felt like I wanted to do medicine, dentistry, something like that, and that’s how I ended up preparing for the exams, which is all a point system. I wanted to go into medicine, but I didn’t have the points, so I went into dentistry,” Bradley said. “And it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened.”

After five years of study at University College Cork, Bradley crossed the Irish Sea to practice general dentistry in the United Kingdom – but not for long.

Unhappy with treatment conditions in the U.K. at that time, he returned to Ireland to begin his path specializing in orthodontics – until friends who had been to the U.S. said, "Hey, you're not married ... why not go to America, study there for a while and then come back home instead?"

“And so, that was my plan,” Bradley said. 

And we all know the old saying about making plans …

One of the roles of the president is the storyteller of the university, so I've been out in the community more and building relationships. That's who I am ... I enjoy relationship building and I think that's how you reach people and help people get things done.

– Gerry Bradley, president

CROSSING THE SEA ONCE AGAIN, Bradley journeyed to study at The Ohio State University. There, he met his future wife, Kim, who was an undergraduate student working part-time in The OSU’s oral surgery department. They fell in love, exchanged vows and started their family, which grew over time to include five sons – two of whom are proud UofL alumni, one a double alumnus. When asked what it’s like being the father of five boys, Bradley simply said, “It’s a lot of soccer.”

The young family remained stateside after Bradley landed his first academic job at Marquette University in Wisconsin, but with no opportunity for a private practice, he relocated them back across the pond to start a practice south of London. And yet, Bradley knew the States was where they belonged, both to be closer to Kim’s family and to give their growing brood better opportunities. 

Two years later, Marquette called upon Bradley again, offering him a dental chair position. Ever ready to seize the moment, the dentist accepted the opportunity and flew his family back home to America for the final time.

Bradley thrived at Marquette for 18 years, rising through the ranks as department chair, program director and associate dean. He also owned and operated a successful private practice for 15 of those years, which he calls a challenge and an opportunity to train in people management and prudent financial affairs for when fate would lead him south.

Eventually, navigating the simultaneous rigors of dual professions led Bradley to a fork in the road: Choose private practice … or academia?

“I decided higher education was the lane I wanted to stay in,” Bradley said, thus opening the door for his next chapter in Louisville.

WHEN BRADLEY JOINED UofL as the dental school’s dean in 2016, it was a role he was delighted with, perhaps even a crowning achievement (dental pun intended) of his academic career. He certainly didn’t see it as a stepstone to the university’s highest office.

“I never woke up one day and said, ‘I’m going to be president of this university,' because you don’t become a dean of a dental school if that’s what you want to do. It’s pretty rare that dentists become presidents,” Bradley said.

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Another point of interest that makes Bradley’s presidency unique is that unlike over half a century of UofL presidents, he’s the first since Woodrow Mann Strickler (a faculty member who joined UofL in 1938 and served as its 13th president 1968-1972) to be elevated to the office from within the university’s existing ranks. While Bradley acknowledges that sometimes you need to look outside to find the right solution, sometimes you look closer to home.

“I have a depth of knowledge that any president coming in would not have the ability to come up to speed on. It would probably take a year or two for that individual to feel like they have a pulse on the environment,” Bradley said, referring to UofL’s 12 unique colleges and schools, not to mention the dozens and dozens of vital administrative units. “I don’t have to do that.” 

Prior to his presidency, his three-year tenure as provost put him on the senior leadership team responsible for oversight of the current strategic plan and in the pilot’s seat for developing the forthcoming 2026-30 strategic plan. “We haven’t had to skip a beat in that work, which I think has been a great asset,” he said, adding that he’s focused on moving a mile in a handful of areas rather than an inch in 30 directions, providing a more disciplined and strategic approach to progress.

In addition to his institutional knowledge, Bradley’s spent the past decade building vital relationships with faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders. He also has the benefit of being well versed in the pride and processes of both the Belknap Campus and Health Sciences Center.

Lori Gonzalez, a former UofL provost and interim president whom Bradley calls “a great mentor,” chose him as interim provost when she vacated the position. Now the president of Ohio University, Gonzalez sees her former colleague as a true university citizen. “Gerry brings both a deep understanding of UofL’s history and a clear vision for its future, and he is a strong advocate for the transformative power of higher education. UofL values its role as a metropolitan university and a catalyst for engagement, economic development and the creation of future leaders,” she said. “Gerry is the right leader at the right time.”

IN A PERIOD WHERE CULTURAL AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES around campus, the country and world feel more polarized than ever, perhaps what makes Bradley uniquely qualified for this time are the perspectives he brings to the table. He’s come from, and is formed by, many global cultures, including American values, which he holds a lot of confidence in.

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“I have huge optimism on our way forward,” Bradley said. “The melting pot is a strength and should be enshrined and encouraged. I’m an immigrant. I grew up in a country that had great divisions … there was practically a civil war going on. So, I’m used to dealing with conflict that’s been around for a long time. We must get back to a space where we can talk about the divisions we are going through right now, and we must respect individuals we may not necessarily agree with. Hear them out. Share with them. Just like our state motto says, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ ”

And while the stakes may feel higher than ever in higher education, adversity and overcoming obstacles is just the nature of things. “This university has been around for a long time, and it’ll be a long time after we’re gone that it will be here. We’re just the stewards of its journey,” Bradley said. “It’s certainly never dull.” 

Gerry brings both a deep understanding of UofL's history and a clear vision for its future, and he is a strong advocate for the transformative power of higher education.

– Lori Gonzalez, former provost and interim president

Despite hurdles, UofL’s narrative in the early months of the Bradley era is anything but doom and gloom. 

Enrollment and retention aren’t just high, they’re record-breaking. The university earned a trio of Carnegie Classifications, including Opportunity College, that only 10 other U.S. institutions collectively share. Eight of the nine dean positions that were interim or open have been filled, bringing exciting new energy across campus. And Bradley is encouraging the deans to think of innovative degrees and programs that meet student and community needs, such as the hospitality management minor that bourbon and hotel industries have been asking for.

He's also bullish on future-proofing work and learning through artificial intelligence (AI). AI minors in business and communication have already launched, with a dedicated degree program on the way. These were created to serve current and returning students, but Bradley aims to upskill faculty and staff through AI training, too.

“I see AI as an opportunity to help people in their jobs and make their work different over time. If we’re going to be training our students for the real world and AI, then we have a responsibility to have our own people trained for this evolving and changing world,” Bradley said.

As president, there are a lot of people Bradley will make happy, and a lot of people he’s going to disappoint. It’s the universal balance. But he believes that his firsthand experiences as a first-generation student, a therapeutic diagnostician and a teacher give him the hard and soft skills to bring Cardinals together and lead UofL into its future – with a little help from a secret weapon, his ears.

“We have two ears and one mouth for a reason,” Bradley said. “You have to spend more time listening than talking. Irish people tend to be talkers, so I’ve tried to spend more time listening and learning.”

BEYOND CAMPUS, THE BRADLEYS ARE ENJOYING THE KENTUCKY LIFE and their community of friends and neighbors in Oldham County. Kim doesn’t miss the harsh Wisconsin winters, and her husband is excited to be back near good ol’ college football. A Manchester United fan (“A very sad team over the last couple of years,” he winces), Bradley loved the high-octane energy of American football he experienced at The OSU games, and missed that at Marquette, which hasn’t had a football program since 1960.

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“I’m a sports guy, a long runner, and what’s been the most fun for me has been the football stadium. Coming to UofL, it was such a great feeling again to be on a major football field and the excitement that it generates. It reminds me of the games I attended growing up,” Bradley said. “I love my good old athletics programs.”

And despite the whirlwind of activity surrounding his ascension to the role of president, Bradley said he’s finally been able to take a beat and reflect on the power of this moment, especially with the help of his Cardinal family. He was always the dentist, but now he must be the musician, the biologist, the social worker and more as UofL’s leader. Through a series of listening tours with faculty, staff and students over the past year that have touched nearly all 12 colleges and schools under the university’s umbrella, he’s found that everyone shares a common goal of student success and access to education.

“It’s made me a better leader because I’m more aware of their nuances and how to make decisions that benefit the most people,” he said. “My role here is to protect the students, to continue to bring the institution forward and do it in a way that is collaborative and transparent.”

Experience. Compassion. A Cardinal spirit with well-established roots. It’s these assets and more that have prepared Bradley to be one of the most important things for UofL as president – its storyteller.

“I enjoy meeting new people. And one of the roles of the president is the storyteller of the university, so I’ve been out in the community more and building relationships. That’s who I am. That was me when I was dean, and that was me at my practice building relationships with my patients and parents of my patients. I enjoy relationship building and I think that’s how you reach people and help people to get things done,” Bradley said.

“I’m very blessed and proud to be the president of this university, and I’ve never regretted accepting this role at all. Not even for a minute.”

Explore more stories from the fall/winter 2025 issue of UofL Magazine