Michael F. Adams

Michael Fred Adams (born March 25, 1948)[2] is president emeritus of the University of Georgia in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Michael F. Adams
President of the
University of Georgia
In office
1997–2013
Preceded byCharles Boynton Knapp
Succeeded byJere Morehead
Personal details
Born
Michael Fred Adams[1]

(1948-03-25) March 25, 1948
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Spouse(s)Mary Lynn Ethridge Adams
Alma materLipscomb University
Ohio State University
ProfessionUniversity President

Adams began his career in education as a faculty member at Ohio State University from 1973 to 1975. He later served as vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University from 1982 to 1988. After his tenure at Pepperdine, Adams was president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky for nine years, 1988–1997. During his tenure at Centre, the endowment tripled to $120 million, faculty salaries nearly doubled and Centre was usually first in the nation in percentage of alumni making donations to the school each year.

Starting in 1997, Adams served as president of the University of Georgia. Under Adams' leadership, the university has increased total enrollment from 29,000 to nearly 35,000 and constructed or renovated a number of buildings and facilities, including an expansion of the Georgia Museum of Art, a new special collections library, newly relocated art school and science research facilities, and expansion of the university's Tate Student Center. The College of Engineering, College of Public Health and UGA-GHSU Medical Partnership have been established under Adams's tenure.

Adams has received more than 50 awards in higher education, including the Knight Foundation Award for Presidential Leadership, the Pioneer Award for Leadership in Civil Rights and the James T. Rogers Award from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He received the Governor's Award in the Humanities from the Georgia Endowment for the Humanities. He has also been elected to lead a number of national education organizations, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Executive Committee. Adams was selected as the recipient of the 2013 Chief Executive Leadership Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District III.

Before entering higher education, Adams held a number of political positions. He served as chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker 1975–1979 and as an aide to Governor Lamar Alexander of Tennessee from 1980 to 1982. Adams was the Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in 1980 for Tennessee's Fifth District, but he lost the general election to Democrat Bill Boner 118,506 votes (65.4%) to 62,746 (34.6%)

In May 2012, Adams announced that he was stepping down as president of the University of Georgia after 16 years. He said he plans to continue to be involved with the Athens community and teach and write at UGA as well as fundraise for the university. The president's retirement took effect June 30, 2013.[3]

Education

Adams graduated from Chattanooga High School. Adams holds a B.A. in speech and history from David Lipscomb College, 1970; M.A. in communication research methodologies from Ohio State University in 1971; and a Ph.D. in political communication from Ohio State University in 1973. To support himself during the OSU years, he served as minister at the Indian Springs Church of Christ in Columbus. In May 2012, Adams announced that he would be stepping down as UGA president the following year.[4]

Athletics Involvement

Adams has served as the chair both of the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA.[5][6] During his tenure as President of the University of Georgia, he was heavily involved in the UGA athletics department.

Advocacy of NCAA football playoff

On January 8, 2008, Adams made national news when, as chairman of the NCAA executive committee, he advocated establishing an eight-team playoff for an NCAA football national championship. Adams, citing the influence of the television networks and commissioners of the various conferences and bowls, noted that some recent BCS matchups had been disappointing and stated that the BCS system was "undercutting the sportsmanship and integrity of the game."

UGA Athletics Controversies

Adam's involvement with UGA athletics at time pitted him against the UGA athletics director and many fans. Notably, in 2000 Adams fired Jim Donnan despite Donnan's winning record and the backing of UGA athletics director Vince Dooley.[7] Adams came under further fan scrutiny for shortening Dooley's contract from four to two years.[7] Dooley had worked for four other UGA presidents and had spent nearly 40 years as coach or athletic director for UGA.[8] This was met by protests from fans upset at Dooley's early termination. Members of the UGA Foundation, which fundraises money for the university, tried to push Adams out over his handling of Dooley's firing.[8] Adams also hired and oversaw the basketball program coached by Jim Harrick. An academic scandal led by Harrick's son cause Adams to pull UGA's team from possible post season competition.[7]

References
  1. "Commencement Summer 1973" (PDF). Ohio State University. 1973. p. 2.
  2. "About Michael F. Adams". University of Georgia. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  3. "Adams to retire: "My love will always be deep for the University of Georgia"". Atlanta Journal Constitution. May 3, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  4. "UGA President Adams announces plans to step down next year". University of Georgia. May 3, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  5. "UGA President Michael F. Adams to serve as president of SEC". UGA Today. 2004-06-30. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  6. "UGA President Michael F. Adams elected chair of NCAA Executive Committee". UGA Today. 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  7. Ernst, Megan. "After Adams: Championships, controversies and change during 16 years as president". The Red and Black. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  8. Weiszer, Marc. "Michael Adams leaves presidency with big imprint on UGA sports". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved 2019-10-18.

Notes
  1. ^ William Prokasy, UGA's Vice-President of Academic Affairs at the time, served as the interim UGA president for 3 months from the time of Knapp's departure in the spring of 1997 until Michael Adams's official start in the fall of that same year.
Preceded by
Richard L. Morrill		 President of Centre College
1988–1997		 Succeeded by
John A. Roush
Preceded by
Charles Boynton Knapp		 President of the University of Georgia
1997–2013		 Succeeded by
Jere Morehead (designate)
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