Dr. Hansen has been Music Theory Coordinator for the School of Music & Theater since 2000. He teaches Theory at all levels, Formal Analysis, Orchestration, Counterpoint, Analytical Technique, Contemporary Analysis, and Composition. He has also taught in the areas of Jazz Studies, Conducting, and Music Technology. In all of his classes the underlying goals are for students to know themselves, discover meaning in their lives, and have respect for diversity.
From 1995-2000 he was Director of Distance Learning and managed technical programs in the School of Extended Studies. He taught at the University of Mississippi, Ball State University, and Humboldt State University prior to joining the faculty at PSU.
Hansen has been active in shared governance at Portland State, and served as Presiding Officer of the Faculty Senate in 2016-17. In that capacity he worked closely with the Board of Trustees and administrators to benefit students and faculty.
Brad plays jazz piano, composes, and arranges music. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as other organizations, and ensembles worldwide perform his compositions. He is the author of several textbooks, and has written four editions of The Dictionary of Digital Media, published by Fitzroy-Dearborn and Routledge. The dictionary is searchable online, along with his academic writings, compositions, and course materials at hansenmedia.net. Another site he developed for teaching and testing music fundamentals is located at musiccourseware.net.
Outside of academia, Brad has worked as a digital media producer and instructional designer. He has produced digital audio and video for Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard, among others. He taught seminars on interactive design for the US Department of Defense in Germany and for the New Media School in Reykjavik, Iceland.