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MLK Reflections event features U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. and AUM alum

a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera

MLK Reflections Breakfast logoU.S. Air Force Brigadier General Terrence A. Adams will serve as the keynote speaker for Auburn University at Montgomery’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Reflections Breakfast on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

In the interest of public safety, given the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County, AUM will offer the program via live-stream rather than as an in-person event. The program will begin at 9 a.m. and will be viewable at https://www.aum.edu/mlkbreakfast/.

Adams, who earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1994, has multiple connections to the River Region. A native of Tuskegee, Adams earned an MBA from Troy University and graduated from Maxwell Air Force Base’s Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff College, as well as the Air War College.

U.S> Air Force Brigadier General Terrence A. Adams
U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Terrence A. Adams

“We are excited to welcome Brigadier General Adams back home to Auburn University at Montgomery as this year’s keynote speaker and look forward to his insights on diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as his ‘listen, lift, love’ leadership philosophy,” said AUM Chief Diversity Officer Brooke Burks, who also serves as Chair and Professor in the university’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction & Technology. “As an Alabama native and AUM alum, Brigadier General Adams brings a unique perspective to this event as an example of the paths we take to bring us full circle.”

As the Military Deputy Director of Concepts and Strategy-Air Force Futures based at the Pentagon, Adams assists in developing and synchronizing Air Force strategy and strategic planning efforts and executing war-gaming in support of the Air Force Chief of Staff.

Adams enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private after high school. After six years of service, he entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Alabama State University-Detachment 019 after graduating from AUM. He commanded six times at the squadron and group levels, with three of those commands coming during deployments. He deployed to Oman, Iraq and Qatar in support of operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, New Dawn and Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.

Before his appointment to brigadier general, Adams served as a commander of the 628th Air Base Wing at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina.

A tradition at AUM since 2010, the MLK Jr. Reflections Breakfast connects River Region community members and the AUM campus community with civil rights activists and servant leaders. Previous speakers have included Equal Justice Initiative founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson, former Martin Luther King Jr. confidante Xernona Clayton, author and motivational speaker Cyntoia Brown-Long and civil rights activist Bernard Lafayette Jr.

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