Former University of Georgia president Michael Adams has been gone from the flagship institution since 2013. Last year, the Athens icon accepted a position as chancellor of Pepperdine University, returning to the institution where he served almost a decade before coming to UGA.
Adams was in Atlanta recently visiting family and meeting with UGA supporters. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught up with him to talk with him about his work at Pepperdine, his legacy at UGA and his future plans. (Some of the responses have been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: It has been almost a year since you’ve been on the job at Pepperdine. How was the first year?
The year was about renewing acquaintances in a lot of ways. My tasks for the year were to help raise money, raise Pepperdine’s national profile and bring a different perspective to younger administrators there. (Pepperdine’s president) Andrew Benton said it would be good to get some gray hair into the room. (Adams is 68.) It’s been a good year, busy, but not nearly the constant pace required for being a university president.
Q: What else keeps you busy?
In addition to the work at Pepperdine, I will teach a Ph.D.-level course in higher education administration in the fall (at UGA), which the agreement with Pepperdine allows. I plan to teach as a distinguished professor at Pepperdine in spring 2017. (Adams also remains a member of the NCAA’s infractions committee and the The Howard Baker Forum’s Cuba consortium advocating for normalized relations between Cuba and the United States, and he participated in the New York Times’ Higher Ed Leaders Forum last month)
Q: Describe your time as UGA president. Do you miss the daily involvement?
I’ve tried to stay out of the way of the current administration. I have always thought when you leave administration you need to leave. Being president of UGA is a 24/7 job, things come at you fast. The university is the state. UGA’s president plays a major role in setting education policy in the state. I think I had a positive impact not only on higher education but also on K-12 education. I’ve never been a second-guesser. I miss the people and the immediate staff who become your family … but, knowing when to go is a feeling you just know.
Q: As we move into a new presidency, what higher education issues should we be considering?
How are we going to pay for all this (educating students)? Who (what students) are we going to serve? With ethical issues going on now at schools including Syracuse (academic fraud) and Baylor universities (mishandling sexual assault cases), what are college administrators responsible for?
Q: What are your future plans? Is another presidency in your future?
I plan to be at Pepperdine at least a couple more years. (On another presidency:) I think that chapter is in the past and I think it should be … also, I’m 68 years old. We’ve had many opportunities since then, and have been surprised at the number of opportunities we’ve had. (On retirement:) Athens is home for us. I’m a Bulldog through and through.
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