Michael F. Adams, President

Michael Adams

Michael F. Adams has been the University’s president since 1997. Several additions to the campus have been built during his tenure, including the Miller Learning Center; the addition to the Tate Student Center; new residence halls and a dining commons on East Campus; a new home for the Lamar Dodd School of Art; and an expansion of Sanford Stadium and the Women’s Athletic Complex. Adams served as chairman of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and has served as chairman of the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in speech and history from David Lipscomb College, earned a master’s in political communications and a doctorate in political communications, with a cognate emphasis in educational administration, from The Ohio State University.

Jere Morehead
Provost, Senior VP for Academic Affairs

Jere Morehead

Jere Morehead was named senior vice president for academic affairs and provost in fall of 2009, following a national search. He has served the University in several leadership positions since joining the faculty in 1986, including vice president for instruction and vice provost for academic affairs. In that time, he has come to love many places on campus, such as North Campus and the East Village Commons, where he can interact with students. He has also won numerous teaching awards as a professor in the Terry College of Business. “I enjoy being around so many individuals who are committed to making UGA one of the greatest research universities in the United States,” Morehead wrote in an e-mail to the Red & Black.

Tim Burgess
Senior VP for Finance and Administration

Tim Burgess

Tim Burgess was named senior vice president for finance and administration in 2006 and, in this capacity, also serves as treasurer for the UGA Athletic Association, treasurer for the UGA Research Foundation, finance director for the Arch Foundation, and chairman of the UGA Real Estate Foundation. Burgess initially joined the University in 1999 after spending 20 years in Georgia government. He served as associate vice president for finance and administration at the University from April 1999 to July 2000. After leaving the University, he worked as the chief financial officer for the Georgia Technology Authority, was the first commissioner of the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety and also served as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health. He  rejoined the University as associate vice president and budget director in 2005. Burgess is a 1977 graduate of the University, holding a bachelor’s degree in political science. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Georgia State University.

Tom S. Landrum
Senior VP for External Affairs

Tom Landrum

Tom Landrum became senior vice president for external affairs in 2008 and is responsible for managing the University’s advancement program, which includes fundraising, public affairs, alumni relations, financial and fundraising support services, donor relations and stewardship, and special events. Prior to becoming interim vice president, Landrum worked 19 years in the office of the president. He was assistant to former President Charles Knapp from 1992 to 1997, and executive assistant to Adams from 1997 to 2007. Landrum has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in journalism from the University and has worked here since 1976, when he joined the public relations office. His history has left him with a fondness for North Campus. “I don’t ever take it for granted,” he said.

Laura Jolly
VP for Instruction

Laura Jolly

Laura Jolly, dean of the College of Family and Consumer Science, was named interim vice president for instruction in January and is responsible for overseeing continued improvements to teaching, advising and student learning on campus. Jolly was named dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2007 and has been a professor in the Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management in the University of Tennessee’s College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Previously, she was at the University of Kentucky, where she was chairwoman of the Department of Interior Design, Merchandising and Textiles. She was also a faculty member in the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising at Oklahoma State University, where she earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree and served as director of the Center for Apparel Marketing and Merchandising.

Rodney Bennett
VP for Student Affairs

Rodney Bennett

Rodney Bennett was named vice president for student affairs in 2005. He is responsible for overseeing the Department of Campus Life and the Tate Student Center, which includes Greek Life and the Center for Leadership and Service; the Disability Resource Center; University Testing Services; Recreational Sports and the Ramsey Student Center; the University Health Center; University Housing; the Department of Student Support; and the Department of Intercultural Affairs. Bennett received his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and a Doctor of Education degree from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn.

David Lee
VP for Research

David Lee

David Lee sums up his job in three broad points -— providing an institutional perspective to research, expanding the University’s research portfolio and making sure research is conducted in a safe, secure environment. Lee’s own research is dedicated to understanding cancer, but his office encompasses a variety of subjects, including ensuring that all research meets state and federal guidelines and the commercialization of University technology and ideas. The thing Lee loves most about UGA is its people. “It’s what gets me up in the morning,” he said.

Steve Wrigley
VP for Government Relations, Interim VP for Public Service and Outreach

Steve Wrigley

Steve Wrigley juggles two jobs at the University. As interim vice president for public service and outreach, he oversees efforts to integrate all elements of the University — its students, alumni, clubs, etc. — into the world at-large, giving them the tools they need to understand and affect the world beyond campus. As vice president for government relations, an office under the Division of External Affairs, he devotes his time to maintaining and strengthening relations with local, state and federal governments. “It keeps me busy,” Wrigley said, noting that he two titles aren’t all that unusual with the economic downturn. “I don’t know that what I’m doing is unique in that regard.” Either way, Wrigley considers himself lucky in that his jobs allow him to interact with many different people. “I really liked what was happening here,” Wrigley said.

Tom Jackson
VP of Public Affairs

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson was named vice president of public affairs in 2006. “My job is telling the story of the University of Georgia to its various constituents,” Jackson said. “We have such wonderful stories to tell.” Jackson joined the University staff in 1974 as broadcast editor in public relations. He left the University for a time, holding jobs such as Atlanta Constitution correspondent, before returning in 1988 as director of public information. He graduated from UGA in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in history and received a master’s degree from the University in public administration in 2004.