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William Drea Adams
'Bro' Adams
10th Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities
In office
July 2014 – May 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
DeputyCarole M. Watson
Preceded byJim Leach
Succeeded byJon Parrish Peede
19th President of Colby College
In office
2000–2014
Preceded byWilliam R. Cotter
Succeeded byDavid A. Greene
14th President of Bucknell University
In office
1995–2000
Preceded byGary Allan Sojka
Succeeded bySteffen H. Rogers
Personal details
BornBirmingham, Michigan, U.S.
SpouseLauren Sterling
EducationColorado College (BA)
University of California at Santa Cruz (PhD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsVietnam War

William Drea "Bro" Adams is an American educator and advocate for the humanities. He was the tenth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2014 to 2017.[1][2] He served as the 14th President of Bucknell University from 1995 to 2000, and as the 19th President of Colby College from 2000 to 2014.[3]

Early life and education

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Adams at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2016

Adams was born in Birmingham, Michigan,[4] attended the Holderness School,[5] and began undergraduate studies at Colorado College. He left the school and served for three years in the United States Army, including one year in Vietnam as an infantry advisor in the Mekong Delta, but returned to graduate in 1972 magna cum laude.[5] He subsequently spent a year in France as a Fulbright fellow,[citation needed] studying at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes and the École Normale Supérieure before earning a Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1982.

Career

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Adams began his professorial career as a visiting assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then Santa Clara University. In 1986 he moved to Stanford University where he coordinated the Great Works in Western Culture program. He earned his nickname, Bro, from his father, in memory of a friend who died in World War II.[6] In 1988 he took an administrative position at Wesleyan University, eventually becoming the vice president from 1993 to 1995.[7] Adams authored a PhD dissertation in history of consciousness titled Digging in the same place: an essay in the political and social philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1982).[8]

He served five years as president of Bucknell University in Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2000, and became Colby College's 19th president on July 1, 2000.

Adams served as a director of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network from 2002 to 2012, Wittenberg University from 2007 to 2011, and the Unitil Corporation since 2009.[9] President Obama announced his intention to nominate Adams to be the tenth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities in April 2014,[10] and the nomination was confirmed by the Senate in July 2014.[2] Adams resigned his NEH appointment in May 2017, citing accomplishments in the public humanities under the NEH Common Good initiative and the transition in federal administrations.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Senate Confirms Head of US Humanities Endowment". The Washington Post. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Ex-Colby President Confirmed as Chair of National Endowment for the Humanities". Portland Press Herald. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Presidents of Bucknell || Office of the President || Bucknell University". Bucknell.edu. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  4. ^ "President nominates William D. Adams as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (National Humanities Alliance)". Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  5. ^ a b "Office of the President". www.colby.edu.
  6. ^ "William Adams Confirmed as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities". National Endowment for the Humanities. 23 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Office of the President". www.colby.edu.
  8. ^ "Digging in the same place": an essay in the political and social philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Thesis). University of California Santa Cruz. 1982. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  9. ^ "William Adams - Forbes". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  10. ^ "President Obama Announces his Intent to Nominate Dr. William "Bro" Adams as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities". whitehouse.gov. 10 April 2014 – via National Archives.
  11. ^ "NEH Chairman William D. Adams Announces Resignation". Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Humanities. May 22, 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
Government offices
Preceded by Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities
2014–2017 		Succeeded by
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