Atlanta — May 28, 1997

Three finalists for the presidency of The University of Georgia are under consideration by University System Chancellor Stephen R. Portch and the Board of Regents’ Special Committee, chaired by Regent Donald M. Leebern, Jr.

Chancellor Portch said that the UGA Presidential Search and Advisory Committee appointed to identify qualified candidates “forwarded an outstanding group of educational leaders for consideration as the next president of UGA. All three finalists are uniquely qualified.”

Portch commended the work of both the 13-member campus committee and the Special Regents Committee. “The many supporters, alumni and friends of The University of Georgia have a vested interest in who will lead this institution into the 21st century,” Portch stated, “and that fact has not been lost on anyone associated with this process. All involved have taken their charge seriously, and our entire state should be proud when the new president is introduced.”

Finalists, in alphabetical order, include:

• Dr. Michael F. Adams, president and professor of government at Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky. Adams has held his current post since 1989, during which time he has led the development of a 10-year strategic planning effort designed to move the institution into the upper echelon of national liberal arts colleges and has tripled the endowment to over $120 million. Centre College was named in 1995 as one of the top 25 teaching institutions and has the highest percentage of alumni giving in higher education. Adams’ previous posts include a vice presidency at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Adams earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1973, with a major in political communications and a minor in educational administration. He also earned his M.A. in communication research methodologies in 1971 from Ohio State. Adams received his B.A. from Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1970, majoring in speech and history and minoring in economics. Adams attended public schools in Albany and Macon, Georgia.

• Dr. James Bernard Machen, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Machen has served in his current post since September 1995. He joined Michigan in October of 1989 as professor of dentistry, dean of the School of Dentistry and chair of the Department of Dentistry at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Machen’s previous posts include serving as the associate dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Machen is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and a past president of the American Association of Dental Schools. Machen received his D.D.S. from St. Louis University in 1968, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Iowa in 1972 and 1974, respectively.

• Dr. Debra W. Stewart, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Stewart, who joined the NC State faculty in 1974, recently served as the interim chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her previous appointments including serving as the interim dean of the Graduate School at NC State from 1986-88. She has authored, co-authored and edited books and scholarly articles on administrative theory and public policy. Her current research interest focuses on ethics and managerial decision making. Stewart has served as chair of the Council of Graduate Schools, chair of the Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education of the National Association State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and as chair of the Graduate Record Examination Board. She currently serves as vice-chair of the Board of Directors of Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Stewart earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also holds a M.A. in government from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University.

The Board of Regents will make the final appointment from this group of finalists at its June 11, 1997 meeting.

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