Thirty-one newly named professors were honored Nov. 14 during Emory University’s 2024 Celebration of Faculty Eminence. The event, held at the Hellenic Community Center, celebrated the honorees and their commitment to advancing scholarship and research while enriching the student experience.
During the ceremony, President Gregory L. Fenves, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Ravi V. Bellamkonda and Adam Rogers 92C 96M, chair of the Emory Board of Trustees’ Academic Affairs Committee, highlighted the fundamental aspects of faculty eminence, including the freedom to conduct original, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, a diverse and talented community of scholars and the significance of philanthropy in attracting and nurturing expert faculty.
Fenves said that Emory faculty “have expertise and ideas that inspire our students and drive discovery, research and scholarship at the very highest level.” He added that the newly named faculty “ignite students’ ambitions” and“enrich their disciplines.”
Fenves spoke to the importance of expanding the ranks of endowed professorships — a priority of Emory’s 2O36 capital campaign — and shared that donors have created 93 new endowed positions across the university since the campaign began. The 58 endowed professorships and 35 distinguished professorships are more than double the number of endowed positions established during Emory’s last campaign.
Bellamkonda noted the “magic” that derives from the impact professors have on the university and its students.
“This is the magic of the university — when faculty push the boundaries of knowledge and work on things that are hard to do and no one else has taken the time to do before,” said Bellamkonda. “The other piece of magic of the university is when a student’s thought process or course of life changes because of what our faculty do in their mentoring, teaching, research and scholarship.”
Rogers, who also serves as co-chair of the 2O36 campaign, stated that investing in faculty is critical to the success of students and Emory. “The reason the 2O36 campaign is so important, is that it isn’t about constructing another building. We already have a lot of beautiful buildings on this campus. It’s about people, and it’s the people at Emory that really make the school what it is. As endowed professors, you are the engine that drives this university.”
Named and Endowed Professors 2023-24
Ifeoma Ajunwa | Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
Carol Anderson | Robert W. Woodruff Professor of African American Studies
Jennifer Ayres | The L. Bevel Jones III Chair in the Practice of Ministry
Mehmet Bilen | Champions and Friends of Dunwoody Country Club Professorship in Prostate Cancer
Anthony Briggman | Dr. Andrew J. and Georgia L. Ekonomou Distinguished Professor of Patristic Theology
Jada Bussey-Jones | Carter Smith Sr. Chair of Medicine
Caroline Collins | Rollins Distinguished Clinician in the Seavey Clinic
Ruomeng Cui | Goizueta Foundation Term Associate Professor of Information Systems & Operations Management
Theresa Gillespie | Looney Family Professor of Cancer Research
Kelly Goldsmith | Curing Kids Cancer Professor of Pediatric Oncology
Michael Halkos | Charles Ross Hatcher Jr. Distinguished Chair in Surgery
Alejandro Herrero-Olaizola | Paul & Phyllis Fireman Professor of Spanish
Vibha Lama | Augustus J. McKelvey Chair in Lung Transplantation Medicine
Jinyu Liu | Betty Gage Holland Chair in Roman History
Andrea López-Cepero | Rollins Distinguished Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Machelle Pardue | Lilla Mae Stanton Walthour and Lena Stanton DeLaPerriere Chair in Ophthalmology
Kevin Quinn | Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law
Amit Saindane | William P. Timmie Professor of Radiology
Philip Santangelo | Jonathan and Sheryl Layne Professor of Biomedical Engineering
David Schweidel | Goizueta Chair in Business Technology
Yoland Smith | Rollins Chair in Neuroscience Research
Kendall Soulen | Bishop Mack B. and Rose Stokes Chair in Theology
Stacie Strong | K.H. Gyr Professor of Private International Law
Rabindra Tirouvanziam | Schinazi Family Distinguished Professorship in Biomedical Research
Mylin Torres | James W. Keller Chair in Radiation Oncology
Pamela Vohra-Khullar | Rollins Distinguished Clinician in the Seavey Clinic
Richard Wainford | R. Bruce Logue Chair in Cardiology Research
Xiaofeng Yang | Paul W. Doetsch Professorship in Cancer Research
Teri Yohn | Rebecca Cheney McGreevy Chair of Accounting
Jindan Yu | Fray F. Marshall, MD Chair in Biomedical Urologic Research
Emma Zhang | Goizueta Foundation Term Associate Professor of Information Systems & Operations Management