7:22 pm May 2, 2012, by Maureen Downey
Big news today for UGA. The AJC is reporting that University of Georgia President Michael Adams will announce Thursday that he will step down effective next year.
Any suggestions on replacements?
There are some dynamic young college presidents out there. I would love to see Georgia choose someone from outside the usual pool, someone who would shake up the campus and the status quo.
Adams, who has led the state’s flagship college for 16 years, will be 65 by the time he retires. During his tenure at UGA, the university has become more selective and is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 public colleges in the country. Meanwhile enrollment has grown by almost 6,000 students to nearly 35,000.
Adams is expected to publicly discuss his pending retirement to the campus, according to a state official and a high-ranking University System of Georgia employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog<
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146 comments Add your comment
PREZ
May 3rd, 2012
11:05 am
GOOD RIDDANCE ADAMS !! I say hire VINCE DOOLEY in this position – wouldn’t you just love THAT????
As far as good ‘ole Sonny Perdue….ARE YOU KIDDING???? Please “GO FISH”…..
NC Dawg
May 3rd, 2012
11:09 am
Vince Dooley!
Fred ™
May 3rd, 2012
11:19 am
2 Days ago I would have said Earl Lewis but he has accepted a position at the Mellon Foundation. I think he was looking for an Ivy league Presidency though………..
http://provost.emory.edu/about_us/provost/index.html
Fred ™
May 3rd, 2012
11:22 am
The Truth
May 2nd, 2012
11:56 pm
truedawg you are right. Cathy Cpx would be a good hire!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I almost threw up in my mouth when I read that because I was thinking of that uneducated mindless bimbo KATHY Cox, not the fully qualified CATHY Cox.
How sad that we have two politicians with names so closely related that are not within light years of intelligence of each other. Kathy definitely is the one on the short bus.
oldawg
May 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
Good news & good riddance to Michael “The Weasel” Adams. It would have been better news if he was leaving town immediately.
Bob
May 3rd, 2012
11:39 am
Rodney Bennett.
Uh, Maureen...
May 3rd, 2012
11:42 am
…the last time UGA did a “national” seach for this job we ended up with Dr. Adams – came from mighty Centre College in Danville, KY and brought his liberal arts mentality of a small, but well funded, collegl to a major university where some of his ideas were not welcomed, yet he did improve the national prominence of the university ten-fold…
Moneyball
May 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
Newt Gingrich
Dale
May 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
My guess is that they will give it to Ricardo Azziz. Thoughts?
It’s official: Michael Adams leaves UGA next year | Get Schooled
May 3rd, 2012
11:55 am
[...] The AJC reported this yesterday, but here is an official announcement from the Board of Regents, chancellor and governor: Today’s announcement by University of Georgia President Michael Adams that he will step down on June 30, 2013, will mark the conclusion of 16 years leading one of the nation’s top public universities. In response to Adams’ announcement, Governor Nathan Deal, Board of Regents Chairman Benjamin Tarbutton III and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby each made a statement. [...]
1993 UGA grad
May 3rd, 2012
11:58 am
Whoever is selected needs to understand what it means to be a “land grant university”. UGA has continued to move away from its core reasons for existence.
danny
May 3rd, 2012
12:06 pm
Anybody but Adams, shafted Vince Dooly and gave us Damon Evans.
Go Jackets
May 3rd, 2012
12:24 pm
I think Damon Evans would be perfect for the job! Ugay fans might finally get their two year wish to get rid of Richt and replace him with Bobby Petrino…..
Get Vince!
May 3rd, 2012
12:31 pm
Hire Vince Dooley!! adams fired him and Vince needs money!!!
Huh?
May 3rd, 2012
12:39 pm
Isn’t Obama half white too?
boots
May 3rd, 2012
12:42 pm
Gere Morehead would be a great internal candidate. I would also like to see someone with an international background considered. That is, not a foreign candidate, but someone with some international affairs or business experience. At the end of the day, it is all about money, so someone who is a good fundraiser would be important, too.
Wallis the dog
May 3rd, 2012
12:47 pm
Adams was a terrible hire– part weak academician, part politician. Where is the next Chuck Knapp?
Joey
May 3rd, 2012
12:47 pm
“Nubian Eyes”
Who give a flyin fish samich! Be an AMERICAN!!!!! Love AMERICA!!!! Do whats right for AMERICA!!!!! No one! I mean NO ONE GIVES A FLIP ABOUT YOUR COLOR………
Gee’s!
WOW
May 3rd, 2012
12:47 pm
Dr. Stokes sounds like a good candidate although I am not familiar with her. I would suggest Dr. Karen Holbrook who was also a former Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs. She was President of Ohio State before going back to I think UCF or USF.
KahoonaDawg
May 3rd, 2012
12:58 pm
Maybe we could bring back Adams’ good buddy Jim Harrick. He should have been let go with that hire.
ATLcracker
May 3rd, 2012
12:59 pm
I agree with John 9:28 pm. I think Adams has really underperformed. Given the advantage of the Hope scholarship at retaining bright kids in state it’s hard to explain why Georgia isn’t right up there with UVA and UNC for the best public universities.
YoungDawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:17 pm
Sonny Purdue or Billy Payne would be good choices
Pres
May 3rd, 2012
1:21 pm
how about the dude who’s running the atlanta public schools? he’s looking to move up to a big dollar slot in the state.
Mr Smoketoomuch
May 3rd, 2012
1:29 pm
How about a box of nails….Several rusted ones.
Just 4 Kicks
May 3rd, 2012
1:30 pm
Bubba Sparks for UGA President
What gives?
May 3rd, 2012
1:34 pm
Mr Smoketoomuch Your comment is awaiting moderation.
May 3rd, 2012
1:29 pm
How about a box of nails….Several rusted ones.
Fred ™
May 3rd, 2012
1:42 pm
LOL I forgot that Earl Lewis is black. It’s such a non issue with me that i don’t think about it. Do I get extra bonus points because I suggested a Black man. ROFL.
Mark
May 3rd, 2012
1:46 pm
JohnnyBgood is correct. Condi Rice would bring immediate international respect and take the University to the next level.
DrDawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:48 pm
Karen Holbrook will be 71 when Adams steps down next year. I don’t think that is what UGA needs.
billyBobjacket
May 3rd, 2012
1:52 pm
Adams should get little to no credit for improving the academic standing. It is all about the HOPE keeping more of the bright kids from Georgia from going out of state or to private colleges. He should get partial credit for nearly bankrupting HOPE with outrageous annual tuition increases. We all know when the government is blindly paying for something the price goes WAY up.
ksleezy
May 3rd, 2012
2:24 pm
Bre’r Rabbit
Last Word
May 3rd, 2012
4:23 pm
George Benson?
What does a jazz guitarist from the 70’s know about running a university?
Last Word
May 3rd, 2012
4:24 pm
another comment
May 3rd, 2012
6:03 pm
Donna Shalala, who is at Univ of Miami. She formerly was the Director of US Dept. of Health and Human Services. She is wonderful.
bigdawgfan
May 3rd, 2012
7:08 pm
I have an idea for the retirement party!! One, occupy Jekyll Island. Two, Augusta National (afterall, we have a connection).
Prof
May 3rd, 2012
7:16 pm
I’ve been blogging as “Prof” for some time now, and just want to say that I’m not the one using that name at 10:38 am…funny entry though.
Can’t suggest anyone, but it probably will be someone fairly unknown who is ambitious to shape UGA into a school that can survive financially, keep its strong academic emphasis, and change its reputation as a party school for rich white kids. I predict that he/she will leave in about 5-7 years for a better school, for UGA would make an excellent stepping-stone.
Prof
May 3rd, 2012
8:01 pm
@ Maureen. When are you going to let us register our blog names? I’ve signed off here as “Prof” for quite a while, and am definitely not “Prof” on May 3, 10:38 am.
Archie@Arkham Asylum
May 3rd, 2012
10:38 pm
@William: Beware the rage of illiterates!
Preppie
May 4th, 2012
12:13 pm
I moved to Georgia about 20 years ago. I have watched UGA grow from a rural University to a respected institution. Part of this was under Michael Adams’ tenure. I realize that many do not like him due to his stance on several athletic decisions. However, he has repositioned the University so it is positioned to be respected in the future. The next President will have the opportunity to build on this.
I think it is great that UGA aspires to be in the same category as Michigan, UNC, UVA and UCLA. Although UGA has become more competitive in admissions, it is still short compared to these other institutions regarding the academic profiles of the student body. What also separates these other schools from UGA are the significant endowments that they have. Although UGA has made great strides, it has actually lost ground to these schools since their endowments have grown while UGA’s has not. There is a huge gap, not only with these schools, but with other schools such as Florida, Georgia tech, etc.
With that said, UGA is well positioned to be consistently ranked as a top 25 public university. It will be important for the next President to be able to raise significant funds, especially since funds from the Hope Scholarship are declining. If the University aspires to grow its reputation, it needs to look outside the state of Georgia and recruit a President with both an academic and athletic vision.
DAWG
May 4th, 2012
1:11 pm
Lee Daniel
kathie
May 4th, 2012
1:44 pm
Bill Underwood, present president of Mercer Univ., Macon.
Revdawg
May 4th, 2012
2:14 pm
Hines Ward! Lord help us if it’s Cynthia McKinney.
H. Chizek
May 4th, 2012
2:52 pm
Tim Mescon should be the next president. He built the Kennesaw State College of Business into an educational powerhouse. Currently, he’s president of Columbus State University. In fact, he should have been named president of KSU when Betty retired a few years ago.
BG
May 4th, 2012
3:38 pm
Anyone but Adams!
Proud Educator
May 4th, 2012
4:59 pm
Maureen, I know you probably have a great sense of humor and died laughing at Lee’s analysis of your comments. You have to admit, it was hilarious!
Dana
May 6th, 2012
4:23 pm
My pick would be the current Provost at UGA, Jere Morehead. He has all the inside knowledge, and is one of the most politically deft individuals in academia. He will continue all the positive attributes of Adams, but he is extremely thoughtful and has an amazing ability to avoid mistakes. A great choice!