The organization that accredits colleges and universities in the southern U.S. has presented UGA President Michael F. Adams its highest award for leadership.
The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave Adams the 2005 James T. Rogers Distinguished Leadership Award. The award was presented Dec. 5 at the annual SACS meeting in Atlanta.
The award recognizes one person for outstanding involvement in, and support of, commission activities that strengthen the accreditation process in the Southeast. It is reserved for a person whose service to the commission is deemed “truly distinctive.”
Adams has been involved for many years in developing and improving policies and procedures for higher education accreditation. He served as chair of the Commission on Colleges from 1997-1999, and previously was vice chair and a member of the commission’s Executive Council.
The award is named for James T. Rogers, who retired this year as executive director of the Commission on Colleges. Rogers worked for more than two decades with the commission, which is the accrediting body for more than 780 colleges and universities in 11 Southeastern states.
Adams is a widely recognized leader in American higher education. In January he will become chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. He has also been chair of the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and is the only person ever to lead all three of the country’s major educational organizations.