Brad Olson

Brad Olson serves as an Associate Professor in the Community and Leadership Development department at the University of Kentucky's Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. His position combines teaching and research focused on communications within community development contexts.

Dr. Olson's research examines effective communication strategies for public scholarship, stakeholder engagement, and behavior change. His work spans three key areas:

• Increasing civic participation through volunteering, fundraising, and grassroots organizing
• Fostering mutually beneficial university-community partnerships
• Improving public understanding of science through media and educational programming

His methodological approach integrates social science research to evaluate communication efficacy, with fieldwork conducted in Kenya, Russia, and South Africa. Current projects investigate how visual/verbal/written communication and formal/non-formal education impact decision-making in community development.

Professional background includes six years as an instructor at Penn State before joining UK in summer 2019. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural & Extension Education from Penn State (2019).