Meet the Provost
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Stanford University
Masters of Arts in Social Science of Education, Stanford University
Doctor of Philosophy, Middle East Studies, University of Oxford
Dr. Bradley J. Cook has been serving as the Provost of Southern Utah University since August of 2009. Prior to this appointment, Cook served as the president of the Abu Dhabi Women's College, an institution serving nearly 3,000 Emerati female students in the United Arab Emirates. Prior to his time in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Cook served as vice president for academic affairs at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah.
As a student, Cook completed his Bachelor of Arts with honors at Stanford University in International Relations. He also was a starting cornerback for the Stanford University football team. As an athlete he received many honors such as Kaplan Scholar Athlete, National Scholar Athlete: US Army Reserve, and First Team Academic in the All Pacific-10 Conference. Cook continued his education at Stanford, eventually earning a Master of Arts in Social Science of Education. Upon completion of his Master's degree Cook took a position as the special assistant to the president at the American University in Cairo, marking the beginning of his international career.
In 1991, Cook then moved to the business world as the director of government relations for International Bechtel, Inc. in Kuwait. In 1993 he returned to the States to serve as an assistant to the president for special projects at then Utah Valley State College (UVSC). While at UVSC, Cook also taught in the Department of History and Political Science, teaching courses in Middle East politics, international relations, and global communities.
In 1995, Cook returned to the classroom as a student at the University of Oxford in Great Britain where he earned a doctorate degree in Middle East Studies as a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellow at St. Antony's College. Upon completion of his doctorate degree, Cook returned once again to Utah and in 1997 he became an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations at Brigham Young University (BYU). There he taught many undergraduate and graduate courses related to international development and comparative education.
Cook returned to UVSC in 1999 as the vice president for college relations. In this capacity, he spearheaded many fundraising projects to further advance the college. He also managed the successful transition of the college's athletics program from the junior college ranks to the Division I level of collegiate competition. He later advanced to the position of vice president for academic affairs at UVSC, serving as the chief academic officer and the senior vice president responsible for the academic affairs of the college and providing leadership for all educational planning, administration and academic program development. All the while, Cook continued teaching courses in international relations, Middle East politics, and comparative religion at UVSC and earning tenure.
He has special research interests in Islamic educational theory, comparative religion and international and comparative education. Dr. Cook is active in his academic field in chairing and presenting regularly at international conferences and symposia as well as maintaining a consistent research and publication agenda. Some of his publications can be found in such academic journals as: International Review of Education, Comparative Education, Compare, the Comparative Education Review, Middle East Affairs Journal and the Journal of Critical Inquiry into Curriculum and Instruction. His book, Classical Foundations of Islamic Educational Thought is due out shortly.
Dr. Cook is married to Terri Kerr Cook and the couple has four children: Sam, Cairo, Jack and Charlie.