
Bradford Gioia
“Brad spent 47 years in two independent schools, serving 18 years in a variety of capacities including Headmaster at Darlington School, and 29 years as Headmaster of Montgomery Bell Academy. He has been engaged locally, nationally, and internationally in education, and his love of building culture and community has defined his tenures.“
Brad grew up without the knowledge of independent schools or the college world since both his parents never finished their high school education. When he was 16 years old, he joined an Episcopal Church, where a youth counselor recommended that he apply to Sewanee, the first college he had ever seen or known about. In undergraduate school, he relished the community and engagement of students and faculty in an educational setting. He set out to work in independent schools in 1976 when he joined Darlington School, in Rome, Georgia, and began by teaching English, coaching athletics, directing plays, and serving in a dormitory. Over his 18 years there, he soon took on the roles of Admission Director, Principal, and Headmaster.
In 1994 Brad moved to Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville to serve as their Headmaster. At MBA he began a series of strategic plans to expand the campus, build annual and capital and endowment resources, and to provide greater opportunities for students and faculty. During his tenure, the campus grew from 30 to 50 acres at the main location, as well as 10 acres of playing fields just over a mile away, and a mountain retreat of 200 acres an hour and a half from the main campus. The annual fund expanded from $250K in his first year to $3.3 million in his final year. The endowment rose from $20 million in 1994 to $125 million in 2023. Student enrollment rose from 530 to 850 students in those 29 years.
In 2012 he secured an endowment gift to provide $1 million of grants for students interested in summer study and travel. He set up exchange opportunities for students and faculty in 10 countries, and he created an international symposium with the Headmaster of Winchester College for 10 schools around the world. He also helped three international schools—The African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, LEAF Academy in Bratsilava, and Letovo in Moscow—develop their programs, campus, and mission from their beginning stages. His fundraising experience also entails three separate large building projects totaling more than $300 million.
His greatest interests are school culture, admissions, and enhancing the student experience by developing a school and community that aspires to excellence in every realm and focuses on the care and knowledge of its students and their support of one another and appreciation of all endeavors. One of his favorite routines at Montgomery Bell Academy was leading the Board on retreats every other year to visit independent schools around the country as a way to gain perspective and to build board knowledge of the independent school world.
Brad has degrees from the University of the South, Middlebury College, and West Georgia University, as well as an honorary doctorate from Sewanee. He has served locally as President of the Independent Schools Association, President of the International Boys School Coalition, and President of the Heads Collegiate Forum.
Shortly after retiring from Montgomery Bell Academy in June of 2023, Brad was appointed Belmont University’s first Educator-in-Residence, where he continues to teach, advise, and lead professional learning opportunities as well as foster connections with independent schools. He and his wife, Minna, are proud parents of their two children and their families…. now comprising five grandchildren under three!
Listen to Brad’s interview on The Beacon Podcast where he discusses:
- How both students and parents have changed over 40 years in what they expect, what they want, what they need
- How finances and fundraising have changed in independent schools
- Changes in school culture and how important culture is to the longevity and success of a school