University of Georgia President to be featured at Outhier Leader Lecture

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Michael F. Adams, president of the University of Georgia, will be the featured speaker for the Edmond Outhier Leadership Lecture at Lipscomb University Wednesday. Adams, a 1970 Lipscomb University graduate, will speak to students during the 10 a.m. chapel service, then present the Outhier Lecture during a noon luncheon. The chapel service is held in Allen Arena and is open to the public. The luncheon is for invited guests. "Dr. Adams has demonstrated the kind of servant leadership we wish to instill in our students since he was a student at Lipscomb and served as president of Circle K International," said Dr. Stephen F. Flatt, Lipscomb University president. "In each of his endeavors since then, whether working for U.S. Sen. Howard Baker, for Pepperdine University, as president at Centre College and now at the University of Georgia, he has served in an exemplary manner and is leading UGA's rise into the upper echelon of public research universities in America," Flatt said. Adams will be the third speaker in the annual Outhier Lecture Series, which is presented by Lipscomb's Center for Leadership Excellence. Previous speakers were Bernie Ebbers, president and chief executive officer of MCI/WorldCom; and Truett Cathy, founder, president and CEO of Chick-fil-A. The Edmond Outhier Leadership Lecture Series was established in 2000 by his parents in memory of Edmond Outhier, a 1987 Lipscomb graduate, who died of cancer in 1998. The series celebrates the qualities of enthusiasm, loyalty, resourcefulness and courage, which challenge oneself and others to excel. Adams has been president of the University of Georgia since 1997 and is also professor of political communication. Before his present appointment, he served nine years as president of Centre College in Kentucky and was vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He recently concluded a term as chair of the board of the American Council on Education, and is a former chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body for schools in this region of the United States. He holds the doctor of philosophy in political communication with an emphasis in educational administration from The Ohio State University.