Dr. Brad Chisholm (St. Cloud State University)

Dr. Brad Chisholm is a film studies professor at St. Cloud State University. 

From Norman County, Chisholm grew up along the Minnesota/North Dakota border. 

“I was a farm kid, and I was fiercely proud of my life on the farm,” says Chisholm, whose father instilled discipline and a strong work ethic in him from a young age.

“He taught me that if you work very hard at something, you can be successful, whatever that something might be.” 

At the same time, the intellectually curious Chisholm was drawn to subjects like history and art, so much so that remaining in Norman County in perpetuity simply wasn’t feasible. 

“I knew early on that I didn’t want to be a farmer when I grew up,” Chisholm says.  

“I wanted to get off the farm, travel, and embrace this big wide world.” 

After high school, Chisholm headed sixty miles south, enrolling at Minnesota State University Moorehead.

It was there that Chisholm became enthralled with film, talking himself into an already full film class by agreeing to work as a projectionsist for the professor. 

“This was the 1970s, and back in those days, running films was done with a projector, and there was actually some training that had to be done in order to properly manage the machine,” Chisholm explains, but learning how to operate a film machine in a pre-digital era was not the only perk of working in that class.

Chisholm also got to meet former Hollywood stars like Lillian Gish, who would come to campus and visit students. 

“In the 1920s, Lillian Gish was Hollywood’s most admired dramatic actress,” Chisholm says of the starlet who was dubbed the “First Lady of the Screen” by Vanity Fair in 1927.

“Of course, by the time I met Lillian, she was an octogenarian, but it was such a privilege to meet people like her, and those encounters further fueled my interest in film.” 

After earning his undergrad, Chisholm left Minnesota and crossed over into Wisconsin, landing in Madison, where he hoped to earn the credentials needed to one day become a PhD and a professor. 

Earning his doctorate was an enduring process, but the dedicated Chisholm persevered, and post-college, he was fortunate to immediately land a teaching position at UNLV. 

“I had taught some classes at Madison, and so when I graduated I was ready to teach my own courses,” says Chisholm, who would go on to spend six years in Sin City building out UNLV’s film program before he and his wife opted to leave the state of Nevada. 

“UNLV is a great school, but the city of Las Vegas, I don’t much care for.”

This is partly because while Chisholm was able to thrive on the Runnin’ Rebels campus, his wife struggled to find employment opportunities that were commensurate with her advanced degrees. 

“This was the 80s, and quite frankly, the city was sexist,” Chisholm notes. 

“A woman with two master’s degrees was intimidating for many business owners, many of whom did not have college degrees at all.”

An opportunity arose at St. Cloud State University to continue teaching film, but still, leaving Las Vegas wasn’t easy. 

“I had just gotten a promotion and tenure, and like an ingrate, I left,” Chisholm jokes, but the reality is he was turning down financial security in pursuit of something more fulfilling for him and his family. 

And it’s not like St. Cloud State was able to rival the compensation package he had at UNLV. 

“I had to take a pay cut, give up my promotion, and tenure, but that’s how much I wanted to move back to the Midwest,” Chisholm insists.  

“It ended up being a good opportunity because they needed someone at St. Cloud State who could grow the film program, and I had the track record to do it.”

Right away, Chisholm began laying the foundation for a film program that, 31 years later, is still thriving, despite the adversity posed by COVID and rapidly declining enrollment around the country. 

Therefore, the sustainability of St. Cloud State’s film studies program is a testament to Chisholm’s talents, and that same work ethic that was ingrained in him by his father. 

When asked what three-plus decades of excellence means to him, Chisholm briefly ponders the question, and then, in true Minnesota fashion, answers humbly.  

“I get to do what I really love, which is not that common in the world,” he says. 

“Many of my friends can’t wait to retire so that they can do what they have always wanted to do, so I consider myself lucky that I’ve been able to make a living teaching others about something I’m so passionate about.”

But it’s not just teaching that Chisholm does.

More importantly, he’s making a difference. 

“That being said, I realize that most students will pass through my class, and there may be ways that I have positively influenced them, but I will never know,” Chisholm says. 

“And that’s just fine. That’s the nature of teaching.” 

Come May 2029, Chisholm will have been a professor for 35 years, at which point he will retire and give the next ambitious academic the stewardship of film history at St. Cloud State. 

There tends to be a natural sadness that comes with this, the realization that one’s time at the forefront of an endeavor will pass, but for his part, Chisholm is not dreading the day he permanently exits campus.  

“The longer I’m in this position, the more I’m preventing someone who is well-trained and talented from getting this job,” he observes. 

“When I leave, that will give the next wave of students someone new who will come in and teach them, and it will also give someone a fantastic opportunity, because this is a wonderful job. It truly is.” QS

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