In spite of his limited administrative experience, Walter Adams carried Michigan State University through a very difficult period in student/establishment relations. The students' positive impression of him may be seen in the numerous pro-Adams editorials that were published in the student paper, "The State News". His success can be measured by the fact that toward the end of his term, petitions requesting that he remain as president had collected the signatures of some 950 faculty and 20,000 students—approximately half of the entire student body. However, he stuck to his original promise, and on January 1, 1970, Walter Adams returned to what he considered his true calling, economics.