What energises Dr Adler is the philosophy that the most effective agent of change is education.

Both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter attended GSW — indeed the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, an interdisciplinary policy and advocacy centre with national and international scope, is located on the campus — and the historical legacy of a former president, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and first lady are being woven into the intellectual and academic landscape of the institution through Dr Adler’s efforts.

Americus is also notable for being world headquarters of Habitat for Humanity and close to Andersonville National Historic Site, providing further legacies that Adler has brought into campus and intellectual life. Dr Adler’s numerous trips to universities in China and India have resulted in a further development of his vision regarding curricular reform.

Adler graduated from the University of South Carolina, earned a master’s degree from the University of Georgia, and received a PhD in American literature and culture from the University of Tennessee in 1988.