Jim Bartlett became a New Hampshire Higher Education Commissioner at age 19, an international award-winning engineering educator through the Society of Manufacturing Engineering, a National Science Foundation faculty member connecting North Dakota State University research with high school learning, the ND Homeschool Association Executive Director, and developed and now operates (with his family) a diversified organic farm with a raw milk dairy and store in Bottineau, North Dakota.
For 45 years, he has been a creative education reformer, doing things like introducing a learning factory to aircraft manufacturing engineering education, having graduate students author a book on electronics manufacturing, launching agribusiness and aquaponics facilities at a Christian high school, teaching physics using original sources like Newton, extending home education through college and entrepreneurship, and using the Ten Commandments for Christian college accreditation.
He holds an Associate Degree in Automotive Technology from the New Hampshire Vocational Technical College (where he also taught Automotive Electricity), a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, a master's in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University, and a PhD in Engineering from North Dakota State University.
He worked for the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, and served as a consulting engineer for aircraft metallurgical failure analysis for Northwest Airlines. His graduate school research on bone fracture mechanics was supervised by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Jim became a Christian in 1984 and lived with pastors at Purdue University who were traveling to North Dakota to assist Christian schools and homeschools being prosecuted for violating compulsory school laws. Since then, he has been passionate about contrasting the philosophies operating in our world with the Christian foundation of the country and North Dakota. He and his wife homeschooled their four boys. He often emphasizes that “what is important is not where children learn, but what they learn.”
He has been associated with education reformers across the country since 1984. Now, as public-school challenges have become more apparent, he believes there is sufficient interest in electing individuals who can help parents regain control of their schools and eradicate the irrational ideas being taught. This shift would allow schools to return to teaching the fundamentals, including truth and reality.
