Forty-four named professors were honored Nov. 8 during the 2023 Celebration of Faculty Eminence at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. The event celebrated the honorees and their steadfast commitment to advancing scholarship and research while enriching the student experience.
During the ceremony, speakers highlighted the fundamental aspects of faculty eminence, including the freedom to conduct interdisciplinary research; a diverse and skilled community of peers and students; collaborative relationships; the ability to attract and nurture expert faculty; and the significance of philanthropy.
The celebration opened with a video featuring several faculty members discussing the strengths of the institution, global reach of their research and the impact of philanthropic support. Those speaking were M. Daniele Fallin, James W. Curran Dean of Public Health; Gareth James, John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School; Anant Madabhushi, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Biomedical Engineering and executive director of the Emory Empathetic AI for Health Institute; Eri Saikawa, Winship Distinguished Research Professor of Environmental Sciences; and Fred Smith Jr., Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law.
President Gregory L. Fenves, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Ravi V. Bellamkonda and Cynthia M. Sanborn 87C, Board of Trustees member and chair of the board’s Executive Compensation and Trustees’ Conflict of Interest Committee, echoed the voices in the video.
“Each of these named faculty members are making a difference in classrooms and research laboratories, throughout our communities here in Atlanta and on a global scale,” said Fenves. “They are making breakthroughs that uplift humanity, deepen understanding and produce solutions to the greatest challenges of our time. That is the transformative power of our faculty.”
Bellamkonda noted the prestige and influence named and endowed professors have on the university and its students.
“Named professorships are the highest academic award that we can bestow on a faculty member,” he said. “Having named and endowed faculty means students get to learn from the most talented scholars in the world — and that we get to continuously attract the brightest students each year.”
Sanborn spoke to the long-lasting impact of donors.
“The role of donors is critical — they enable the university to convene the brightest minds to focus on the world’s most pressing issues and to make an impact on students who are eager to learn and innovate themselves,” she said. “Endowed chairs advance a school, department and areas of academic or clinical interest, while honoring the named holder of the appointment and acting as an enduring tribute to the donor who establishes it.”
It’s a sentiment Fallin echoed in the opening video.
“Having donor support, I’m not sure I can put into words how important it has been to us, especially in our rapid growth. It has allowed us to recruit the most incredible faculty who are doing really impactful things and who have then the resources to really go out and make change.”
- Mohammed K. Ali | William H. Foege Distinguished Professor in Global Health
- Antonio E. Alonso | Aquinas Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture
- Paul K. Bhasin | Donna and Marvin Schwartz Associate Teaching Professor of Music
- Mariana Candido | Winship Distinguished Research Professor of History
- Christina E. Crawford | Massee-Martin NEH Professor of Art History
- Mingji Dai | Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Chemistry
- Neal W. Dickert Jr. | Thomas R. Williams Professor in Medicine
- Francesco Evangelista | Winship Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry
- M. Daniele Fallin | James W. Curran Dean of Public Health
- Ron J. Feldman | RGB Dermatology Professorship
- Robert Hampton | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology
- Xiao Hu | Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Nursing Data Science
- Susan E. Hylen | Almar H. Shatford Professor of New Testament
- Tonja Jacobi | Sam Nunn Chair in Ethics and Professionalism
- Reshma Jagsi | Lawrence W. Davis, MD Chair in Radiation Oncology
- Gareth M. James | John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School
- Joshua Jeong | Rollins Distinguished Assistant Professor of Global Health
- Joel M. LeMon | The Rev. Dr. Donald Allen Harp, Jr. Distinguished Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
- Gregory B. Lesinski | John Kauffman Family Professorship for Pancreatic Cancer Research
- Steven Liang | School of Medicine Program Directorship
- Latania K. Logan | Marcus Professor in Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Anant Madabhushi | Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Greg S. Martin | Dr. James Edgar Paullin Distinguished Professor
- Susan C. Modesitt | Leach/Hendee Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics
- Douglas Mulford | Nat C. Robertson Teaching Professor of Science and Society
- Edjah K. Nduom | Daniel Louis Barrow Endowed Chair
- Ilya Nemenman | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Physics and Biology
- Ighovwerha Ofotokun | School of Medicine Grady Professorship
- Don Operario | Grace Crum Rollins Distinguished Professor of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences
- Devaka Premawardhana | Winship Distinguished Research Associate Professor of Religion
- Cassandra L. Quave | Thomas J. Lawley, MD Professor of Dermatology
- Nadine Rouphael | Sumner E. Thompson, III Vaccinology Professorship in Infectious Diseases
- Maria Citarella Russell | Wadley R. Glenn Chair of Surgery for Academic Programs
- Lars Ruthotto | Winship Distinguished Research Associate Professor of Mathematics
- Eri Saikawa | Winship Distinguished Research Professor of Environmental Sciences
- Philip J. Santangelo | John and Jan Portman Professorship in Biomedical Engineering
- Ignacio Sanz | David C. Lowance, MD Chair for Human Immunology
- Pamela Scully | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and African Studies
- Fred Smith Jr. | Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law
- Devin Stewart | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies
- Dianne Marie Stewart | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Religion and African American Studies
- Beth Ann Swan | Charles F. and Peggy Evans Endowed Distinguished Professor in Simulation and Innovation
- Li Xiong | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Computer Science
- Vivian Zhanwei Yue | Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics
Photos by Jenni Girtman, Atlanta Event Photography.