Christian M. M. Brady

American targumist

Christian M. M. Brady (born 1968) is an American scholar who specializes in biblical literature, rabbinic literature, and the targumim, especially Targum Lamentations and Targum Ruth. He is the inaugural Dean of the Lewis Honors College and Professor of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Kentucky (2017). He was interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky from 2020 to 2022. He was Dean of the Schreyer Honors College from 2006 to 2016. He was formerly associate professor of Classical Studies and Jewish Studies at Tulane University. His administrative roles at Tulane included, associate director of the Jewish Studies Program (1997 1998), Director of the Jewish Studies Program (1998 2003), associate director of the Honors Program (2003 2004), and Director of the Honors Program (2004–2006).

Brady grew up in Montgomery Village, Maryland and went to high school in Damascus, Maryland. He received a B. A. from Cornell University in History and Near Eastern Studies with a concentration in Religious Studies. He went on to earn an M. A. from Wheaton College, Illinois in Biblical and Theological Studies, a graduate diploma in Jewish Studies from the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Oxford, and a D. Phil. in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford where he was a member of St. Cross College.

Dr. Brady is married to Elizabeth Walma Brady and they have a daughter Isabel (Izzy) and a son Mack who died aged 8 on December 31, 2012. Mack's death prompted an outpouring of sympathy from the local community. A scholarship fund established in Mack Brady's name supports Penn State soccer.

While dean of the Schreyer Honors College, Brady had a dynamic blog and podcast. The podcasts featured engaging conversations with Schreyer Scholars, his State of the college address, and his vision for the future of the honors college. Some of his blog posts have been moved to his personal site Dean Brady also blogs about professional and personal issues at targument. org In his new position as the Dean of the Lewis Honors College, he also somewhat regularly hosts a podcast. He often has faculty and students from UK appearing on this podcast alongside him. All podcasts are recorded live in the Honors College Lounge, and all Honors students are welcome to attend and interact with Dr. Brady.

Brady is also an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church (USA) and Canon Theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky). He served as a lay trustee (2004 2006) of the University of the South and was elected as a clergy trustee member in 2020. Brady is a regular guest on the podcast "Real Tech for Real People" talking about issues of general tech and technology in education. Appeared as a contestant on NPR's “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” on February 27, 2021.