Hundreds of first-year students joined faculty and university leaders Aug. 22 for Emory’s 2026 Convocation, marking the start of the new academic year.
The tradition, attended by the Emory College Class of 2030, provides an opportunity for students to receive words of welcome and inspiration from the university's president, provost, a distinguished faculty member, and others.
Steeped in symbolism, the ceremony began with a bagpipe-led procession of faculty, deans and other Emory leaders clad in academic regalia.
Provost Badia Ahad welcomed attendees and the Rev. Khalia Williams, interim chaplain and dean of religious life, opened the ceremony with an invocation.
Interim President Justice Leah Ward Sears shared her own greeting with the class, recognized incoming President Christopher L. Augostini, and introduced Anant Madabhushi, the faculty speaker.
Madabhushi is a global leader in developing AI to improve outcomes for individuals with cancer and other diseases. He serves as executive director for the Emory Empathetic AI for Health Institute and is a member of the cancer immunology research program at Winship Cancer Institute. He also is a Robert W. Woodruff Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering.
Emory College of Arts and Sciences Dean James Nagy led the traditional Class of 2030 pinning.
The ceremony concluded with another well-loved tradition: the singing of the alma mater, led by the student a cappella group No Strings Attached and accompanied by the wow factor of the “Chemistry of Gold and Blue” with professor Tracy McGill.
Photos by Jenni Girtman, Atlanta Event Photography.
