UC exercise science professor celebrates retirement after nearly 4 decades

Wilson speaks from a well-earned spot on a chair in his home, having recently retired following a 39-year career as a professor at the University of Cincinnati. He slowly rocks forward and back in his glider, recalling moments from years spent with UC’s Exercise Science program, years that saw him help build the program from just an idea into a popular standalone track of study at the university.

The way Wilson sees it, his path to a career in academia started in his early days, during an active Michigan childhood that found the young boy running from game to game, sport to sport just to keep his body moving.

 “I joke that I learned to walk one day and started running the next,” Wilson says with a chuckle. His athletic inclination wasn’t in pursuit of professional stardom – he played on teams in high school but, by his own admission, “was never a great athlete” – but rather an abiding passion for sport. Any sport.

“I can remember playing soccer when we didn't even know what soccer was,” he says. “I'd play literally any sport.”

So he was quick on his feet, but Wilson also had an active mind and, upon admission to Michigan State University, he decided to study human physiology. “The two things that I've really enjoyed in life are, one, learning about the human body, and the other thing is just being active,” he explains.

Nearing graduation, though, Wilson didn’t see a lot of job openings for someone with his undergraduate degree. So he pivoted to pursue an MBA in business management and subsequently accepted a position at a chemical company, where he took an interest in the organization’s worksite health promotion program. “It started out with executives, but then we realized pretty quickly that you can't just start making people healthy when they get to an executive level,” he explains. “You’ve got to start at the beginning.”

Wilson noted that these programs married his passion for physiology with his business experience for a field he found uniquely interesting and, ultimately, one that led him back to academia for a doctorate in exercise science. The move was also a definitive shift away from the corporate world, which, he admits, wasn’t a great fit. “I tried the corporate world,” he laughs. “Frankly, business wasn't for me.” While he maintained an interest in workplace wellness, his heart was set on a career in academia, which he believed better suited his interests. “I like teaching. I liked the university setting in general, and I really felt like that was where I belonged,” he explains. “I really wanted to be a professor.”

Wilson began applying for university jobs, and, because of his specialty in the fast-growing field of worksite health/exercise science, he received a lot of offers. But he turned all of these down except for one, the faculty position at UC he would go on to hold for nearly four decades.

Looking back, Wilson considers the creation of the standalone Exercise Science program to be one of his greatest accomplishments. But a nearly 40-year career is bound to be filled with notable achievements, and Wilson can recount a number of life-changing experiences his time at UC afforded him.

“I did a number of things that were more health promotion related,” he says. “I was a Kellogg fellow in International Development. That was a a great opportunity where I got to do some international work, mostly in the Western Hemisphere – Latin America and the Caribbean. I did a project in Brazil.”

Now age 70, Wilson made the difficult retirement decision for an unassailable reason: He wants to take some time to see the world with his wife. “My wife's an educator also,” he says, adding that she’s reached retirement age now, too, freeing up the couple for adventures abroad while they’re still healthy and active. “You can't get away during the school year very easily to do the things you want to do. So now I will.”

He notes that he wasn’t ready to leave UC when he reached 65, as he still had some goals he wanted to attain before retirement. “I did have things I wanted to see to the end, which includes the stand-alone Exercise Science program. It is doing really well, and I'm working with five other young faculty who have incredible energy.

“They will be able to move this program forward very well. I've done what I can do.”

Which isn’t to say he’s done with UC. Wilson plans to work on revising his books to reflect updated standards for second editions, and he’ll remain available to help support the instructors taking on courses he developed and taught over the years. He notes he’ll be on hand to help with development of potential future programs, though teaching isn’t a service he’s particularly interested in these days, as he plans to enjoy the flexibility of a retired life.

At the time of this writing, Wilson has been retired from UC for just a handful of weeks, so it feels fitting to ask him if he has any parting words for the community he’s stepping away from. He pauses, leans back in his rocking chair, then notes the advice he’d give is, in fact, more general and addressed to everyone.

“Live your dream,” he says. “Do your job and enjoy it. Take what you can from it, but don't forget about yourself. Don't forget about your health and exercise, and don't forget about your family. All of those things were part of my dream. Everybody's dream is different, but I hope that everybody finds a way to live their dream.

“Because that's what I did.”

Featured image at top: Recently retired Exercise Science professor Bradley Wilson laughs with colleague Mindy Piles at the 2025 Exercise Science EXPO. Photo by CECH Marketing