Steering the State’s Flagship
From raising the academic profile to improving diversity at the University of Georgia, President Michael F. Adams has his work cut out for him.
Dr. Michael F. Adams
Title: President, University of Georgia, 1997-Present
Previous title: President, Centre College, Danville, Ky.,
(1988-1997)
Education: B.A: Lipscomb College, 1970; M.A.:
The Ohio State University, 1971; Ph.D.,
The Ohio State University, 1973
How does one go about changing the culture of the country’s first state-chartered university? It takes more than determination and people skills to usher such an institution into the demographic realities of the 21st century, not to mention into the highest echelons of public postsecondary education. And when that institution has a historical reputation for being inhospitable to Blacks and other minorities, an already difficult task appears monumental.
However, the tide is beginning to turn. Last fall, the University of Georgia, for the second straight year, saw a 38 percent increase in Black applicants and a 36 percent increase in Hispanic applicants. UGA President Michael F. Adams recently spoke with Frank L. Matthews, Diverse’s publisher and editor in chief, about the example the state’s flagship university must set.
DI: Can the University of Georgia be considered a great university without improving its diversity profile?
MA: I don’t think you can fully serve the people of Georgia without improving your diversity profile. They will determine whether we’re a great university or not.
DI: How would you assess your progress to date?
MA: Both the numbers and the commitment demonstrate that we’ve gone a long way up that hill, but I still think there is some climbing to do. It would have been a stretch to talk about 20 percent diversity in the student body 10 years ago … [now] we’re in the top 10 or 12 in producing African-American doctorates. The list goes on. So there are some indications that we’ve come a long way, but when you’re in a state that has our demographics, you need to be scoring high in those areas.
