Michael F. Adams

Michael F. Adams a loving husband, father, educator, public servant, and institutional leader who dedicated his life to the promotion of the individual through government, education, and the church died on January 25, 2026, at the age of 77.

Over a career spanning decades, Adams served with distinction in higher education, most notably as President of the University of Georgia, President of Centre College, Chancellor of Pepperdine University, and graduate and board member of Lipscomb University. In each role, he was guided by a conviction that strong institutions exist to cultivate character, expand opportunity, and prepare individuals for lives of leadership and service.

Born on March 25, 1948, Adams was educated in the public schools of Albany, Macon and Chattanooga, formative experiences that shaped his intellectual curiosity, faith, and commitment to public life. As the first person in his family to graduate from college, he went on to pursue a career marked by scholarship, teaching, and academic leadership, earning respect as both a thoughtful administrator and a principled advocate for higher education.

Adams later served as the 21st president of the University of Georgia from 1997 to 2013, presiding over a period of significant growth in academic stature, research activity, enrollment, and campus development. His tenure helped elevate the university’s national and global standing and left a lasting imprint on its mission as a public research institution.

From 1989 to 1997, he served as president of Centre College, where he advanced the college’s liberal arts mission and helped position it for long-term academic and institutional success. As both Senior Vice President (1980 to 1989) and later Chancellor of Pepperdine University (2014 to 2016), Adams played a central role in strengthening the University’s academic programs and deepening its identity as a Christian institution committed to the integration of faith and learning.

He was chief of staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and an aide to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander. In Washington, he was exceptionally proud of working to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the globe with the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks of the 1970s with the Soviet Union that later became the Start I and II treaties.

Throughout his life, Adams remained deeply engaged with the church and public affairs, believing that education, faith, and civic responsibility were mutually reinforcing pillars of a healthy society. He was known for his intellectual rigor, steady leadership, and belief in the dignity and potential of every individual. Importantly, he believed that institutions should work to better the lives of individual citizens. He was exceptionally proud of signing over 110,000 degrees.

Michael is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary Lynn Ethridge Adams, his sons David and Taylor and his wife Carrie Olivia Adams, his granddaughters, Campbell, Tucker and Lawson Adams and his sister Marsha and her husband Jeff Kelley.

A visitation will be held at Lord and Stephens funeral home Sunday, February 1st from 4 to 6pm at 1211 Jimmy Daniel Rd, Watkinsville, GA 30677. A funeral service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Athens at 185 E Hancock Ave, Athens, GA 30601 on Monday, February 2, 2026 at 2 pm. The funeral service for Michael will be livestreamed by First Presbyterian Church of Athens. Please refer to the following link https://www.firstpresathens.org/news/live-streaming-fpc-worship-service for information concerning the livestream. 

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Michael F. Adams Scholarship Fund at the University of Georgia .

Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville, GA is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com