Postgraduate research

Bradley conducted postgraduate research at the University of California, Berkeley.^[3] It was from here that he and Kenneth Pitzer published the article in The Journal of Physical Chemistry entitled "Thermodynamics of electrolytes 12. Dielectric properties of water and Debye-Hueckel parameters to 350.degree.C and 1 kbar". This article published in 1979 contained what later came to be known as the Tait-Bradley-Pitzer^[4] or simply Bradley-Pitzer equation. The equation is "frequently used for the calculation of the Debye–Hückel slopes."^[5] It is a simple "but effective description of the dielectric constant dependence on the pressure and temperature" of water.^[6] It was derived by modifying the Tait equation,^[7] which was originally proposed by Peter Guthrie Tait to describe the relationship between the volume and the temperature and pressure of water.^[8] However, Bradley and Pitzer formulated an equation of the same form as Tait's that instead described the relationship between the relative permittivity (previously known as the dielectric constant) and the temperature and pressure of water.^[7]

Montana Tech

In 1979, Bradley became a faculty member of Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, what later became known as Montana Tech and then Montana Tech of the University of Montana. Although a Ph.D. graduate already, he studied petroleum engineering at Montana Tech, earning a bachelor's in 1982. The following year, he obtained a master's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa. In 1987, he became the director of the International Programs at Montana Tech, serving in the position until 1989. He then became the head of the Petroleum Department until 1991, at which time he became the dean of Engineering. He served as dean for seven years from 1991 to 1998. Bradley became Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Research, serving in that post from 1998 to 2001.^[9]

Since 1994, he has also served on the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission. On the ABET board, he represented the Society of Petroleum Engineers.^[10] Bradley was named a Fellow of ABET in 2010.^[11]

Fairmont State University

In February 2001, Bradley was appointed the president of Fairmont State University. During his tenure, he also served as chair of the ABET Board of Directors' Finance Committee. In May 2006, he was appointed treasurer of ABET.^[10]

At FSU, Bradley oversaw significant changes to both the university's academic programs and infrastructure. During his presidency, the university was involved in construction projects valued at more than $100 million. Bradley was responsible for implementing the university's first major fundraiser.^[1]

Indiana State University

On June 24, 2008, the board of trustees of Indiana State University announced plans to replace Lloyd Benjamin as president of the university located in Terre Haute, Indiana.^[1] Bradley would take over for Benjamin, who had resigned from the position^[12] after serving for eight years. Bradley became the 11th person to serve in the position^[1] since the school's founding in 1865.^[13] He began his duties in July and was officially installed as president of the ISU in November at a formal ceremony in Hulman Center.^[14]

In 2009, although former governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels had announced a decrease to the state's higher education budget, Bradley announced a "five-year plan that calls for growing [Indiana State’s] enrollment by 1,500 students, increasing graduation rates and even becoming more involved in the community." The plan called for an increase in the diversity of the university's revenue streams,^[15] as well as increasing enrollment, and tackling low retention and graduation rates.^[16] In 2010, Bradley was among the seventy-one college administrators to sign "a pledge to improve student learning."^[17] They were part of the Presidents' Alliance for Excellence in Student Learning and Accountability.^[18] In 2012, Bradley announced the new Sycamore Graduation Guarantee, which is intended to encourage on-time graduation with a guarantee that the university will pay a student's tuition for any time beyond the four years needed to graduate. In return, Indiana State students were required to sign a pledge to maintain a minimum of 32 credits per year, declare a major and meet regularly with advisers.^[19] In 2011, oil was discovered in Terre Haute. Two years later, Bradley celebrated a successful drilling effort on the university property by presenting jars full of crude oil to the school's Board of Trustees.^[20] In the first year of extraction, oil production had generated about $350,000 in revenue for the university.^[21]

By 2015 of Bradley's tenure, the university's enrollment rose to a record high of 13,584 students,^[22] remaining steady at 13,565 by 2016,^[23] and again reaching a record level of 13,771 in 2017,^[24] a significant increase from 10,500 students at the beginning of his term.^[25] ISU has also experienced gains in its four-year graduation rate.^[26] As recently as March 2017, Bradley argued against decreases in funding as proposed in the 2018–19 state budget by the Indiana General Assembly^[27] and advocated for a $4.7 million increase to improve student outcome.^[28] In June 2017, the $2.3 million per year increase was approved by the school's board of trustees as a line-item appropriation in the state budget.^[29] Bradley has overseen several university construction and renovation projects totaling more than $300 million,^[30] which includes a $64 million project to improve the facilities of the College of Health and Human Services.^[31]

In April 2017, Bradley announced he would be stepping down as president of the university.^[32] Although his contract was not due to expire until June 2019, he said the planned retirement was due to a desire to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests.^[30] His retirement became effective in January 2018 after serving as the Indiana State University president for almost a decade.^[33]