Dean Cathy Bradley was named the University of Colorado’s 2025 Excellence in Leadership Award recipient. Bradley, who has been the dean for less than two years, was selected as this year’s sole recipient out of nominees from all four campus locations, for her significant strides for the school in that short amount of time.
According to the award criteria, the recipient “Demonstrates exceptional leadership by thoughtfully strategizing, motivating teams and achieving measurable results while consistently aligning actions with the University of Colorado system’s mission, vision and value.”
Bradley’s significant achievements, thus far, include the school’s successful seven-year reaccreditation; establishing the school’s new strategic plan, mission, vision, and values; and launching a curriculum review initiative.
Bradley, who is also the Deputy Director of the CU Cancer Center, has immeasurable reach across the CU campus. She serves on nine boards and councils and has been the recipient of nine awards, most recently the Excellence in Faculty Research Award in the Colorado School of Public Health in 2021.
Dr. Bradley received a Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University and a Master’s of Public Administration and PhD in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health.
Nominated by nearly a dozen colleagues within ColoradoSPH, Bradley was cited for her leadership, significant strides she has made for the school, and her ability to shift the culture.
“She has worked tirelessly to understand and build systems and strategies to manage our resources as fairly and efficiently as possible. And, her new approaches for stakeholder outreach and inclusion have been remarkable and noteworthy for our public health community,” said one nominee.
