Holli Semetko, vice provost for international affairs and director of the Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, will step down from both positions at the end of August to return to teaching and conducting research.   

Semetko has been named the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Media and International Affairs. She will hold a courtesy appointment in the Emory College Department of Film and Media Studies.

Laney Graduate School Dean Lisa Tedesco will chair a committee for an internal search for Semetko's replacement.

"The Halle Institute's visibility, its programs and partnership, affiliated faculty and publications, have grown significantly under Dr. Semetko's creative leadership" since she joined Emory in 2003, wrote Provost Earl Lewis in a letter to the community, adding that  "hundreds of Emory faculty and students have benefited from the research program that bring international scholars and speakers to campus and abroad for public events and expert meetings."

He noted some of her major initiatives and accomplishments:

• Launching the Emory-Nanjing Visiting Scholars Program, having served more than 40 participants.

• Expanding The Halle Institute Study Trip program beyond its focus on Germany and India to include China, Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Jordan and Indonesia.

• Launching new programs including the Knowledge Futures initiative, the annual India Summit and the endowed Turkish Lecture Series.

• Bringing Cartooning for Peace at the United Nations to Emory.

Emory President Emeritus and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea James T. Laney has said, "Dr. Semetko has been remarkably successful in establishing international partnerships, especially in Korea and China. … Her leadership and vision have been critical in bringing major issues concerning Asia to the attention of the broader community and she has proved an invaluable resource to the university and beyond."