A recent gift to Emory’s Candler School of Theology can be traced to rural North Georgia a century ago. O. Wayne Rollins sat in the pews, sang from the songbooks and took communion at Smith Chapel United Methodist Church near Ringgold — the church where his parents and grandparents were founding members.
An expression of their faith, his family’s first gift to Emory in the 1970s established the Rollins Center for Church Ministries at Candler School of Theology. The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation’s commitment to faith and education has only deepened since that first gift, including a donation in 2011 to create the Rita Anne Rollins Building. In November 2024, the foundation gave $20 million — its largest Candler gift — to support scholarships in the school’s Master of Divinity program (MDiv).
“Students in Candler’s MDiv program are seeking rigorous and relevant preparation for a variety of careers in ministry,” says Jonathan Strom, dean of Candler School of Theology. “These are students who feel called to bring about positive transformation in the world, and we want to support them in that call. We are grateful for this extraordinarily generous gift from the Rollins Foundation, which will allow us to strengthen scholarships for those pursuing vocations in ministry and at the same time affirm a core Methodist value of academic inquiry and ministerial formation.”
The Rollins Foundation has supported many areas of the university, and Amy Rollins Kreisler, granddaughter of O. Wayne Rollins, says her family is privileged again to invest in Emory — this time in Candler’s MDiv program. The gift will make a difference in the educational journeys of MDiv candidates, even as it carries personal meaning that dates back 50 years.
“This gift is special because it connects deeply with my grandfather’s first gift to Emory, which was to Candler,” she says. “It’s a way to maintain that connection to what he wanted to achieve: to support and encourage those who wanted to be Methodist ministers.”
The foundation’s gift will support scholarships in Candler’s Master of Divinity program. Photo by Bita Honarvar.
“This gift will continue the Candler tradition of educating some of the strongest theological students in the country who then go out in ministry to transform their communities,” says Strom. “It will have ripple effects across time, the church, and society, as scholarships will help more individuals afford the high-caliber theological education we offer at Candler.”
Strom says financial barriers are among the most significant obstacles to a theological education, preventing many great people with potential from coming to Emory and Candler. “Each year we lose exceptional students because they simply can’t afford to come to Atlanta and pursue their studies at Emory,” he says. “Offering fellowships and scholarships is exactly the way to make sure the church has the leaders it needs for the future.”
The Rollins Foundation makes this gift at a particularly urgent time. Strom notes a substantial demographic shift occurring among clergy today. As many pastors reach retirement age, communities will need a new generation of church leaders.
As senior pastor at Atlanta’s Peachtree Road United Methodist Church (and the Rollins family’s church since they made their home in Atlanta in 1967), Bill Britt 83T knows the challenges, rewards, and responsibilities of a life in ministry. Like Strom, he anticipates a pressing need for new pastors in The United Methodist Church and a clear, attainable path that will lead MDiv candidates to the education they want and need.
“This is a critical time in the life of the church,” Britt says. “We desperately need excellent leadership. For us to thrive in the future, we need to attract the best and the brightest students and provide them with an affordable theological education.
“I understand the financial challenges students face as they seek to answer God’s call to ministry in the church. Enabling young pastors to start their ministry without the millstone of student debt weighing them down will be transformative.”
Strom describes the gift as pivotal in the school’s history. “It enables a remarkably consequential expansion of our scholarship program, allowing us to financially support students in a way we haven’t been able to before,” he says.
Candler stands out among theological schools, Strom says, because it employs a top-rated research faculty whose work is respected around the globe and is deeply committed to preparing people for ministry in the church.
Kreisler says her family places Candler students at the forefront of this new gift, even as they celebrate and deepen their Methodist roots.
“We hope this gift will enable students to immerse fully in their studies and in their spiritual formation,” says Kreisler. “By supporting those students who feel called to ministry, we intend for it to allow many of them to go on to serve in rural communities like the one in North Georgia where my grandfather grew up.”
“My family has deep and long-running ties to Emory and to Candler. This program to support the MDiv program just felt right for us. I think my grandfather would be proud.”