A celebration of faculty eminence on March 24 at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts marked the contributions of several distinguished groups — faculty who had earned promotion and/or the grant of tenure, were appointed to named and endowed professorships or had earned membership in the National Academies or the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and 2021.
Jonathan K. Layne, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and chair of the board’s Academic Affairs Committee, noted that “a great university arises in several ways: by attracting top students, establishing first-rate facilities and garnering significant community support. All of these things are critical. But faculty are the key, and I and my fellow board members — along with everyone assembled here tonight — salute what their research, teaching and service mean to Emory.”
Layne shared emcee honors with President Gregory L. Fenves and Ravi V. Bellamkonda, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Donors and honorees — the latter flanked by proud family members, colleagues and supporters — as well as deans and associate deans, chairs of the newly tenured faculty and members of the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee gathered in Emerson Hall. Provost Bellamkonda began by congratulating those who had earned tenure and promotion.
A signal moment in a faculty career: tenure and promotion
“It is a wonderful, joyous occasion today. I hope you take the time to pause, to celebrate your hard work,”Bellamkonda said.
As someone who experienced the tenure-and-promotion process earlier in his career, he could not resist a little levity but did so by also making a serious point about what it is to be an individual academic in a larger community of scholars.
“When I was pursuing tenure, I put my head down,” he noted. “I confined myself to a room in my house. After receiving tenure, I left my room and noticed that the kitchen faucet had a little drip. I asked myself, ‘whose job is it to fix that?’ Now that you have received tenure, I hope that you will invest in things other than your own room.”
He went on to encourage faculty members to hold close the reasons they joined their particular fields and to seek out, as their careers develop, lines of inquiry that bring a sense of joy and accomplishment. As he concluded, the provost introduced a video showcasing those who received promotion and tenure.
- Mohammed K. Ali, MD, MBA. MSc | Professor of Global Health
- Angelika Bammer, PhD | Professor of Comparative Literature and Interdisciplinary Humanities
- Robert A. Bednarczyk, PhD, MS | Associate Professor of Global Health
- Jesse Bockstedt, PhD, MS | Professor, Information Systems and Operations Management
- Mariana Candido, PhD, MA | Associate Professor of History
- Howard Chang, PhD | Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
- Hee Cheol Cho, PhD | Associate Professor of Pediatrics with Tenure
- Jinho Choi, PhD, MS | Associate Professor of Computer Science and Quantitative Theory and Methods
- Ruomeng Cui, PhD | Associate Professor, Information Systems and Operations Management
- Tasha Dobbin-Bennett, PhD, MA, MPhil | Associate Professor of Art History and Studio Art
- Christine Dunham, PhD | Professor of Biochemistry
- Astrid Eckert, PhD, MA | Professor of History
- Sarah Fankhauser, PhD | Associate Professor of Biology
- Matthew Freeman, MPH, PhD | Professor of Environmental Health
- Neel Rajnikant Gandhi, MD | Associate Professor of Epidemiology
- Jennifer Gandhi , PhD | Professor & Chair of Political Science
- Thomas Gillespie, PhD, MS | Professor of Environmental Sciences
- Adam N. Glynn, PhD | Professor of Political Science and Quantitative Theory and Methods
- Kali Gross, PhD | National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of African American Studies
- Nicole Guidotti-Hernández, PhD | Professor of English
- Bridgette Gunnels, PhD, MA | Associate Professor of Spanish
- Madeleine Hackney, PhD | Associate Professor of Medicine
- Ihab Hajjar, MD | Professor of Neurology
- Erika V. Hall, PhD | Associate Professor of Organization and Management
- Jehu J. Hanciles, PhD, MTh | D.W. and Ruth Brooks Professor of World Christianity
- Jennifer M. Heemstra, PhD | Professor of Chemistry
- Hao Huang, PhD | Associate Professor of Mathematics
- Kristin Johnson, JD | Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
- Warren R. Jones, PhD | Associate Professor of Pediatrics
- Harshita Kamath, PhD, MTheo | Visweswara Rao and Sita Koppaka Associate Professor in Telugu Culture, Literature and History
- Robert Krafty, PhD, MA | Professor and Chair of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
- Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD | Professor of Pediatrics
- Gregory Lesinski, PhD, MPH | Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology
- Ellen O. Marshall, PhD, MA | Professor of Christian Ethics and Conflict Transformation
- Jennifer McGee, PhD, MA | Associate Professor of Psychology
- Pablo Montagnes, PhD | Associate Professor of Political Science and Quantitative Theory and Methods
- Joshua Mousie, PhD, MA | Associate Professor of Philosophy
- Roger Nam, PhD, MDiv, MTheo | Professor of Hebrew Bible
- John Oshinski, PhD, MS | Professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering
- Rachel E. Patzer, PhD, MPH | Professor of Surgery
- Chrystal M. Paulos, PhD | Associate Professor of Surgery
- Molly Perkins, PhD, MA | Associate Professor of Medicine & Graduate Faculty of Emory Sociology
- Laura Plantinga, PhD | Associate Professor of Epidemiology
- Devaka Premawardhana, PhD | Associate Professor of Religion
- Monika Raj, PhD | Associate Professor of Chemistry
- Connie B. Roth, PhD, MSc | Professor of Physics
- Joellen Schildkraut, PhD, MPH | Professor of Epidemiology
- Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, PhD | Professor and Vice-Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Dianne Stewart, PhD | Professor of Religion and African American Studies
- Ymir Vigfusson, PhD | Associate Professor of Computer Science
- David Weiss, PhD | Professor of Medicine
- Deanna Ferree Womack, PhD, ThM, MDiv | Associate Professor of History of Religions and Multifaith Relations
- William Wuest, PhD | Professor of Chemistry
- Canhua Xiao, PhD, RN, FAAN | Associate Professor of Nursing
The value of endowed professorships
For his part, Layne underscored the critical role that named and endowed professorships play in the life and reputation of a top research university such as Emory, calling them “one of the most significant philanthropic contributions one can make.”
An endowed chair is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a faculty member. Endowed chairs advance the work of departments in an area of academic or clinical interest while honoring a distinguished faculty member and the individual for whom the chair is named.
Being able to award endowed professorships not only enables the recruitment and retention of the highest-quality faculty members but also enhances the student experience. In Layne’s words, investing in endowed professorships means “investing in academic rigor and thought leadership that produces top-notch graduates ready to deliver meaningful, lasting contributions to humankind.”
Layne introduced a video expressing appreciation of the university’s endowed chairs; it also featured trustees and donors making the case for why endowed chairs are integral to Emory’s eminence.
- Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, MPH | Stephen D. Clements, Jr. Professor and Chair, Rollins School of Public Health
- Allen D. Beck, MD | F. Phinizy Calhoun Sr., Chair, Emory School of Medicine
- Valérie Biousse, MD | Reunette Harris Chair, Emory School of Medicine
- Lawrence H. Boise, PhD | R. Randall Rollins Professor and Chair, Emory School of Medicine
- Nicholas M. Boulis, MD, MSC | Al Lerner Chair, Emory School of Medicine
- Jericho Brown, PhD | Charles Howard Candler Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Kenneth Cardona, MD, FACS | Patricia R. Reynolds Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Puneet Chehal, PhD, MA | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Anita H. Corbett, PhD | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Victor G. Corces, PhD | Dean's Eminent Investigator, Emory School of Medicine
- Mani A. Daneshmand, MD | Andrew J. McKelvey Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Satyanarayana Gedela, MD, MRCP | Marcus Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Tracy Clifton Green, PhD, MA | John W. McIntyre Professor, Goizueta Business School
- Edwin M. Horwitz, MD, PhD | Marcus Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Timothy P. Jackson, PhD, MPhil, MA | Bishop Mack B. and Rose Stokes Professor, Candler School of Theology
- Kristin Johnson, JD | Asa Griggs Candler Professor, Emory Law
- Harshita Kamath, PhD, MTheo | Visweswara Rao and Sita Koppaka Associate Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Robert T. Krafty, PhD, MA | Rollins Distinguished Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Daniel W. LaChance, PhD | Winship Distinguished Research Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Amelia A. Langston, MD | Winship 5K Research Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Yang Liu, PhD | Gangarosa Distinguished Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Adam I. Marcus, PhD | Winship 5K Research Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Carmen Marsit, PhD | Rollins Distinguished Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Lauren E. McCullough-Young, PhD, MSPH | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Shivani A. Patel, MPH, PhD | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Brenda Poindexter, MD | Marcus Professor, Emory School of Medicine
- Usha Ramakrishnan, PhD, MSc | Richard N. Hubert Distinguished Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Whitney S. Rice, DrPH, MPH | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP | Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair, Emory School of Medicine
- Joellen M. Schildkraut, PhD, MPH | Jules and Uldeen Terry Distinguished Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- David A. Schweidel, PhD, MA | Rebecca Cheney McGreevy Endowed Chair, Goizueta Business School
- Noah Scovronick, PhD, Msc | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
- Karen L. Sedatole, PhD, MBA | Asa Griggs Candler Professor, Goizueta Business School
- Ted A. Smith, PhD, MDiv, MA | Almar H. Shatford Professor, Candler School of Theology
- Stephen F. Traynelis, PhD | Dean's Eminent Investigator, Emory School of Medicine
- Michael T. Treadway, PhD | Winship Distinguished Research Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Sergei Urazhdin, PhD | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, PhD, MSc | Winship Distinguished Research Professor, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Courtney R. Yarbrough, PhD | Rollins Assistant Professor, Rollins School of Public Health
National academy inductees “in a class of their own”
President Fenves rounded out the program with a fulsome appreciation of the individual faculty members who had been elected to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and 2021. Before doing so, however, he honored “the scholarship, creativity, heart and ambition of our professors and researchers who, through their groundbreaking work, expand new frontiers of knowledge, elevate the student experience and empower Emory.”
“It’s said that faculty are the heartbeat of a great university,” Fenves continued, “and at Emory especially, I know this to be true. The standard of excellence you have set is in a class of its own. You are the leaders in your fields. And when the public, our policymakers and peers at organizations across the globe have questions, they often turn to you — to Emory — for the answers.”
Five Emory faculty members gained election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1780 and, according to its charter, has as its mission “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.”
Three faculty members were welcomed into the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Founded in 1863, the National Academies “provide independent, objective advice to inform policy with evidence, spark progress and innovation and confront challenging issues for the benefit of society.”
The president introduced a video attesting to the significance of these national honors, narrated by Emory faculty who are also academy members.
American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2021
Rafi Ahmed, PhD
- Director, Emory Vaccine Center
- Eminent Scholar, Georgia Research Alliance
- Investigator, Emory Center for AIDS Research
- Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory School of Medicine
Carol Anderson, MA, PhD
- Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Chair, African American Studies, Emory University
Jericho Brown, MFA, PhD
- Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
- Director, Creative Writing Program, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Sanjay Gupta, MD
- Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Emory School of Medicine
- Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
- Associate Chief of Neurosurgery, Grady Memorial Hospital
Vanessa Siddle Walker, EdM, EdD
- Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of African American Educational Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Medicine, 2021
Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH
- James Robert McCord Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emory School of Medicine
- Chair, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory School of Medicine
Susan Margulies, PhD
- Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Injury Biomechanics
- Assistant Director, National Science Foundation’s (NSF) – Directorate of Engineering
- Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology
National Academy of Sciences, 2020
Victor Corces, PhD
- Professor of Human Genetics, Emory School of Medicine
National Academy of Engineering, 2020
Susan Margulies, PhD
- Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Injury Biomechanics
- Assistant Director, National Science Foundation’s (NSF) – Directorate of Engineering
- Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology
As attendees then made their way to a reception on Patterson Green, the synergy between Emory’s donors and faculty could not have been more clear. In a closing gesture of appreciation to donors, Fenves said, “Your support enables this level of achievement, strengthening and expanding the impact of life-changing scholarship and research, creating exciting new pathways of discovery.”