Emory University President Claire E. Sterk has charged a search advisory committee with the recruitment and identification of the most highly qualified candidates for Emory’s next university chaplain and dean of spiritual and religious life.

“The search advisory committee has an outstanding opportunity to identify a slate of top-tier spiritual and religious life leadership candidates for our campus family,” Sterk says. “I see us becoming ever-greater stewards of our dynamic religious and spiritual history, and I know we will find creative new avenues to embolden and strengthen our work together.”

The search advisory committee — chaired by Robert M. Franklin Jr., senior advisor to the president and the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership — will work with the Emory community to identify a slate of leading candidates for Emory’s university chaplain role.

More than 10 listening sessions have been scheduled with relevant stakeholders, and an “open call” session will provide opportunities for anyone in the Emory community to attend and provide input on the search process and the ideal candidate. More information about these sessions can be found at: http://executivesearch.emory.edu/universitychaplain/

Says Franklin, “We’re seeking an individual who can provide truly visionary leadership within the demanding context of a major research university. The university chaplain will offer a visible and effective presence, working across our community to foster interfaith engagement, to provide holistic and pastoral support, to steward the chapel, and to encourage the development of the spiritual lives and ethical awareness of our students, faculty, and staff.”

The optimal candidate will be both a practitioner and a scholar who embodies the role of “chief caretaker,” and who brings an exceptional level of experience working with university and interfaith partnerships.

The search advisory committee will identify and interview applicants throughout the first quarter of 2019 and will present three finalists to the president, with the expectation that Emory’s next chaplain will be identified during the spring semester.  

Search Advisory Committee

Chair:

Robert M. Franklin Jr., Chair, Senior Advisor to the President, James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership

Members:

• Lynell Cadray, Vice Provost, Equity and Inclusion
• Letitia Campbell, Director of Contextual Education I and Clinical Pastoral Education; Assistant Professor in the Practice of Ethics & Society
• Jonathan Crane,Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought
• Deborah Marlowe, Emory University Board of Trustees 
• Judy Raggi Moore, Professor of Pedagogy, Director, Italian Studies
• Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Professor of Practice and Director, Emory-Tibet Partnership, Co-Director, Emory Collaborative for Contemplative Studies
• Akshar Patel, Student Representative
• Mathew Pinson, Associate Dean of Advancement and Alumni Engagement
• Mary Priniski, Interim Director of the Aquinas Center 
• Anjulet Tucker, Director of Programs & Engagement, Search Liaison
• Isam Vaid, (93Ox, 95C, 99MPH) Alumnus Representative, Muslim Student Advisor, Religious Life Scholar
• Khalia Williams, Assistant Dean of Worship and Music, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Worship & Co-Director of the Baptist Studies Program
• Theresa Milazzo, Interim Vice President, Human Resources, Search Advisor

The Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) at Emory University provides varied and rich opportunities to enhance the religious and spiritual life of members of the Emory community in a variety of ways, including creating and sustaining community, encouraging multi-religious service and outreach, and supporting the Emory community in continuing ethical and spiritual formation. OSRL partners with a team of tradition-specific chaplains, religious life advisors, and campus ministers to support a wide range of student religious groups recognized by the university.

The OSRL provides oversight of Cannon Chapel, which was consecrated in 1981. Named for William Cannon, a former dean of Candler School of Theology and later a bishop in the United Methodist Church, the building houses the office of the University Chaplain, Candler School of Theology’s offices, and academic space. The office works with religious life staff representing various religious traditions on Emory's Atlanta and Oxford campuses to develop an extraordinarily diverse religious life program on Emory’s Atlanta and Oxford campuses. Hallmark programs include Journeys, the Inter-Religious Council (IRC), International Student Coffee Hour, and Off the Record.