 Bridges served as president of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2015.In March 2015, he was named president of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, succeeding Thomas L. "Les" Purce.Bridges was president in 2017 when the campus was shut down during a series of protests in response to a perceived growing racial inequality and oppression.