Burt Bradley Memorial Humanities Scholarship Endowment

Raised in California, Burt spent his youth playing baseball and football, but his mother instilled in him a love of books that followed him throughout his life.

His own higher education path started with a community college degree from Sacramento City College in 1975, culminating with his Ph.D. from the University of New York at Stony Brook, in 1986, where he was a Mumford Fellow and a part of the Federated Learning Community.

Burt’s career as a faculty member and then as humanities division chair began at Northwest College in 1986. He taught English and interdisciplinary courses for 30 years, among which was “Writing in the Wild,” which introduced vast numbers of students to the beauty and wonder of the Yellowstone ecosystem and the Southwest desert. His teaching style was collaborative, inclusive and inspiring. Many students who feared putting pen to paper were coaxed into exploring their voices in Burt’s classes, and those who saw themselves as budding poets and writers were nurtured along their individual paths by Professor Bradley. He was honored with the status of professor emeritus when he retired from Northwest College.

Writing was his way of life, something he did every day. After retiring in 2016, he was finally able to pursue, more fully, this passion. He authored two books before losing a battle to cancer.

Burt had an intense love of life, family, learning, music, nature and the outdoors. His wife, Janet, three children; Burt Jr, Sierra, and Layla; and grandchildren brought him extreme joy all the days of his life.