If the chocolate milk in the Brimhall Building seems to run low, don’t worry. It’s just Ed Adams, chair of the Communications Department, keeping tabs on the department with his “chocolate milks visits.”
Having served as department chair from 2003 to 2008, Adams was recently reappointed to the position after spending three years as associate dean for the College of Fine Arts and Communications.
Adams is “genuinely interested in working with the faculty,” according to Dean Stephen Jones of the College of Fine Arts and Communications.
A trademark of Adams’ administrative policy, Jones said, are his “chocolate milk visits.” Adams visits department faculty with two drinks and sits to talk about concerns and ideas the faculty have.
Brad Rawlins, former chair, referred to Adams’ visits as “doing his home teaching in the department.”
Adams believes his “walk-about,” as he calls it, is the most efficient way to keep in touch with those he works with.
Faculty are not the only ones with Adams’ ear. He frequently travels to the atrium of the Brimhall Building to talk with students about their classes. One such discussion, according to Adams, led to a curriculum discussion that may soon mean changes in the department.
In a telephone interview, Rawlins spoke highly of his successor, whom he has known for 12 years. Rawlins recently vacated the chair post to take a position as dean of the College of Mass Communications at Arkansas State University
“[Ed Adams] has a good idea and good vision of where the department should go,” Rawlins said.
Jones also identified Adams as being uniquely qualified for the position, referring to him as a seasoned administrator who knows how to run a department.
“His appointment had tremendous support among the faculty,” Jones said.
“I have seen a lot of administrators,” Rawlins said. “In my opinion, Ed Adams is one of the finest I have ever known. The department is in great hands.”
