George came to Evergreen after serving for ten years as president of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He previously served as Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at the University of Washington, where he also served as Professor of Sociology.

After earning his undergraduate degree in 1972 from the University of Washington, Dr. Bridges pursued his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. There he earned his M.A. in criminology and Ph.D. in sociology. Prior to pursuing an academic career full time, Dr. Bridges worked as a social scientist in the staff office of the Attorney General of the United States. In this capacity he assisted in the design and implementation of research programs on federal law and justice policy.

Over the course of his career Dr. Bridges has taught and lectured at many universities, holding faculty appointments at American University, University of Maryland, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Washington. He has testified numerous times before legislative bodies, including the U.S. Congress, the Washington State Legislature, and the U. S. Civil Rights Commission, primarily on subjects pertaining to legal policy and treatment of racial and ethnic minorities in the administration of criminal justice.

Dr. Bridges has received extensive recognition for his teaching and his scholarship. During his tenure at the University of Washington, he received six awards for excellence in teaching, including its most prestigious teaching prize, the Distinguished Teaching Award. He is the recipient of nearly 20 research grants and contracts from such prestigious national organizations as the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Justice, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and government agencies and commissions in Washington State. His research has sparked legal reforms in juvenile and criminal justice nationally and in Washington State. He has authored or co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles in leading professional journals, book chapters, government reports and professional papers. He also has published several books, including Inequality, Crime and Social Control(with Martha Myers); the three-volume series Crime and Society (with Robert Crutchfield and Joseph Weis); and a book commissioned by the American Sociological Association, Teaching and Learning in Large Classes (with Scott Desmond). He also served as the Deputy Editor ofCriminology, the leading journal in his area of specialization.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the College Success Foundation. He previously served the Board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Independent Colleges of Washington, the Northwest Athletic Conference, and the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce.