Emory students, faculty and staff are invited to a block party on Friday, Sept. 9, to welcome Claire E. Sterk as the 20th president of Emory University. 

At the event, set for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Asbury Circle, attendees can visit with Sterk and her husband, Rollins School of Public Health research professor Kirk W. Elifson, while enjoying live music and free food from S&J Woodfired Pizza, King of Pops and Coca-Cola. 

Already a respected leader at Emory, Sterk officially assumes her new role on Sept. 1. She was chosen unanimously by the Emory University Board of Trustees after an intensive national and international search to select the successor to James Wagner, who retired after 13 years as Emory's president. 

Sterk has been a member of the Emory community since 1995, when she was appointed to the faculty of the Rollins School of Public Health. During her tenure at Emory, she has served as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health, chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, associate dean for research, and senior vice provost for academic affairs. She was named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in 2013.