Brad Carson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brad Carson
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| 21st President of the University of Tulsa | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Gerard Clancy |
| Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness | |
| In office April 2, 2015 – April 8, 2016 |
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| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Jessica Wright |
| Succeeded by | Peter Levine (acting) |
| United States Under Secretary of the Army | |
| In office March 28, 2014 – June 30, 2015 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Joseph W. Westphal |
| Succeeded by | Ryan D. McCarthy |
| General Counsel of the Army | |
| In office 2012–2014 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Steven J. Morello |
| Succeeded by | Alissa Starzak |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Coburn |
| Succeeded by | Dan Boren |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Brad Rogers Carson
March 11, 1967 Winslow, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American Cherokee Nation |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Julie Carson |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Baylor University (BA) Trinity College, Oxford (MA) University of Oklahoma (JD) |
Brad Rogers Carson was born on March 11, 1967. He is an American lawyer and politician. He was the 21st president of the University of Tulsa. He also served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005.
Brad Carson is unique because he voted to allow the Iraq War in Congress. Later, he actually fought in that war himself. He served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2009. He earned a special award called the Bronze Star for his service.
He also held important roles in the government. From 2015 to 2016, he was the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In this job, he helped make big changes to how military and civilian staff were managed. Before that, he was the Under Secretary of the Army from 2014 to 2015. He also served as the General Counsel of the Army from 2012 to 2014.
In 2021, the University of Tulsa announced that Brad Carson would become its 21st president. He started this role on July 1, 2021. In 2024, Carson started a new group called Americans for Responsible Innovation. This group focuses on policies for artificial intelligence. He is currently the president of this group, which is based in Washington, D.C.
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Early Life and Education
Brad Carson was born in Winslow, Arizona. His father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Because of his father's job, Carson's family moved many times. He grew up in several different Native American communities. These included reservations in Nevada, Arizona, and Kansas. He also lived on the Eastern Band Cherokee Reserve in North Carolina.
As a teenager, Carson moved back to Oklahoma. His family has strong ties to the Cherokee Nation there. Brad Carson is an official member of the Cherokee Nation.
High School and College Years
Carson went to Jenks High School. He then studied at Baylor University. At Baylor, he was chosen for Phi Beta Kappa, an honor society. He was the first student at Baylor in 55 years to win a Rhodes Scholarship. This scholarship allowed him to study at Trinity College, Oxford in England. There, he earned a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.
After Oxford, he attended the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He graduated in 1994 at the very top of his class.
Career Highlights
After finishing law school, Brad Carson worked at a law firm in Oklahoma. In 1997, he was chosen as a White House Fellow. This program allows young leaders to work in the U.S. government. He worked at The Pentagon as a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
Serving in Congress
In 2000, Brad Carson was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He represented Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District. This area is in the northeastern part of the state. He won against a long-time state representative in the primary election.
His district's boundaries were changed in 2002. This made it easier for a Democrat to win. Carson was reelected in 2002 with almost 75 percent of the votes.
While in Congress, Carson was known as a moderate Democrat. He was part of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats. He served on committees dealing with transportation, natural resources, and small businesses. On October 10, 2002, Brad Carson was one of the House Democrats who voted to allow the invasion of Iraq.
Running for Senate
In 2004, Carson decided not to run for reelection to the House. Instead, he ran for an open U.S. Senate seat. This seat was becoming available because Republican Don Nickles was retiring. Carson easily won the Democratic primary election. After a tough campaign, he lost the main election to Republican Tom Coburn. Coburn had been his predecessor in the House.
Even though Carson lost, some experts praised his campaign. One analyst called it the "best-run campaign in the nation" that year. After the election, Carson wrote an article for The New Republic that sparked a lot of discussion. Dan Boren, another Democrat, took Carson's place in the House.
After Congress
Brad Carson's term in Congress ended on January 3, 2005. He said he did not plan to seek political office right away. In January 2005, he became a visiting teacher at Harvard University. He taught about U.S. politics for one semester.
After leaving Harvard, he returned to his hometown of Claremore, Oklahoma. He became the chief executive officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses. This company is owned by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is one of the largest businesses in the state. It has thousands of employees and makes hundreds of millions of dollars.
In December 2008, Carson left his job at Cherokee Nation Businesses. He went to Iraq as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy. He led teams that worked with the U.S. Army's 84th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion. These teams investigated bomb sites and other activities related to bombs. For his work, Carson received the Bronze Star. When he returned, he was elected to the board of Cherokee Nation Businesses.
Teaching and Writing
In January 2010, Carson became a professor at the University of Tulsa. He taught business and law. He also became the director of the National Energy Policy Institute. This group focuses on energy policy. In his academic work, Carson has written a lot about the economics of renewable energy. He has also written articles for magazines like The Weekly Standard and The New Republic.
He has also written several books and articles. One of his works is a guide to federal appellate practice. He wrote this with judge Robert Bacharach. More recently, he has written many articles about military reform for an online journal called War on the Rocks.
Working with President Obama
Brad Carson met Barack Obama in 2004. At that time, both were running for open seats in the United States Senate. Carson supported Obama in his 2008 presidential election campaign. Carson helped Obama by approving candidates for delegates from Oklahoma for the 2008 Democratic Convention. Oklahoma was the first state to name all its delegates for that convention.
Obama Administration Roles
On September 14, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Carson for a new role. He was chosen to be the General Counsel of the United States Department of the Army. The United States Senate approved Carson for this job on December 17, 2011.
On January 6, 2014, President Obama nominated Carson again. This time, it was to be the United States Under Secretary of the Army. He replaced Joseph W. Westphal. On February 12, 2014, the Senate confirmed Carson. He officially became the 31st Under Secretary of the Army on March 27, 2014.
As the chief operating officer of the Department of the Army, Carson managed the daily business of the U.S. Army. This included over 490,000 active-duty soldiers, 335,000 National Guard soldiers, 200,000 Army Reserve soldiers, and over 330,000 civilians. He also oversaw the Army's budget, which was more than $150 billion. Carson made headlines when he apologized to Iraq War veterans. This was for the Army's mistakes in handling chemical weapons exposures.
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From April 2015 to April 2016, Carson served as the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In this role, he started many new projects. These included the "Force of the Future" reforms. These reforms updated how the military and civilian workforce were recruited, trained, and managed. These were the biggest changes to personnel systems in almost 50 years.
From 2017 to 2021, Carson taught courses at the University of Virginia. These courses were about national security and how to make public services better.
President of the University of Tulsa
Brad Carson became the president of the University of Tulsa in July 2021. He took over from Gerard Clancy. In July 2023, under Carson's leadership, the university started a new Honors College. This college focuses on literature and philosophy.
In 2022, during Carson's time as president, the university had more National Merit Scholars per person than any other university in the country. In 2023, Carson worked to bring more concerts to Chapman Stadium. The university held its first major concert there since 1990, featuring bands like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe. He also expanded the university's programs in Tulsa's arts district. He led the university in taking over the organization of Tulsa's Mayfest, a big arts festival.
In 2023, the University of Tulsa was recognized as a "free speech" university. It was the first university in Oklahoma to get a "green light" rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. This happened after the Foundation helped Carson update the university's rules on speech and assembly.
In May 2025, Carson announced he would leave the University of Tulsa. He planned to focus on his artificial intelligence nonprofit. His last day as president was May 31, 2025.
Focus on Artificial Intelligence
In late 2023, Carson announced he was a co-founder and president of a new policy group. This group is called Americans for Responsible Innovation. It focuses on artificial intelligence. The group supports responsible rules for AI. These rules include checking how AI is used, reporting problems, and controlling what AI technology can be sent to other countries.
Personal Life
Brad Carson's wife, Julie, served on the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. They live in Claremore, Oklahoma. They have one son.
Brad Carson is also an extreme athlete. In 2017, he completed the Marathon des Sables. This is a 250-kilometer (about 155 miles) ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert. It is often called the world's toughest footrace. In 2018, he finished the Jungle Ultra. This was a similar race through the Amazon jungle.
See also
