Fall semester brings new faculty, cutting-edge programs and more to Emory

As the new academic year gets underway, the nine schools that comprise Emory University have big plans — from welcoming new deans and faculty members to organizing special events and introducing new programs of study. Here’s a roundup of incoming class stats and other things to come, as listed by each school.

Candler School of Theology 

Incoming class: Candler welcomes 190 students from 30 states and 12 countries.

New leadership: Terrence L. (Kojo) Johnson became Candler’s 11th dean on Aug. 1 and will be officially installed during Fall Convocation on Aug. 27 in Cannon Chapel.

Keynote panel: To celebrate Johnson’s installation, five renowned scholars — Claudio Burgaleta of Boston College, Marc Gopin of George Mason University, Susannah Heschel of Dartmouth College, Jennifer S. Leath of Queen’s University and moderator Robert M. Franklin, Jr. of Candler — will take part in the Aug. 26 panel discussion “Faith When Democracy Betrays Its Promise: Law, Lament, and the Work of Justice.” Stay tuned via the Candler Facebook page for a recording.

New faculty: Joining the faculty are J. Neil Alexander, Dean’s Professor of Anglican Studies; Jon-Paul Lapeña, visiting assistant professor of New Testament; Shanise N. Palmer 26G, visiting assistant professor of preaching; Chandra C. Plowden, visiting assistant professor of Black church studies and African American religion and culture; and Kristine Suna-Koro 10G, acting associate professor of worship.

Public theology courses: The Candler Foundry’s slate of fall public theology courses includes “Divine Metaphors: Describing an Indescribable God,” taught by professor in the practice of Old Testament Ryan Bonfiglio, Emory’s 2026 Exemplary Teacher of the Year. 

Queer archives and the UMC: Candler will host events Sept. 22-23 focused on the collection, preservation and sharing of queer history in The United Methodist Church, featuring Ashley Boggan, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church.

Learn more at the Candler School of Theology website. 

Emory College of Arts and Sciences 

Class of 2030: Emory College welcomes another stellar, high-achieving first-year class of 1,469 students representing 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Their citizenships include 60 countries, not counting the U.S. Approximately 16% of the class identifies as first-generation college students.

New leadership: James Nagy, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor and former chair of the Department of Mathematics, has been appointed dean of Emory College for the 2026-27 academic year. Nagy will lead the College through the academic year while the search for a long-term dean continues. 

New faculty: Emory College welcomes 17 new faculty members this fall following national searches. Hires were made across all fields and ranks — arts, humanities, languages, STEM and social sciences — to support the college’s academic and research excellence strategic priorities. 

New associate deans for undergraduate education: Two new associate deans of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Faculty Partnerships have joined Emory College. Jessica Barber, formerly associate teaching professor in psychology, will provide curricular support to STEM and social science departments and programs. Natalie Carter joins Emory from Butler University, where she was a faculty member in English. She will provide curricular support in the arts and humanities.  

Career expo: The Pathways Center will host the annual Career, Internship & Graduate School Expo on Sept. 17 in the Emory Student Center from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The event brings employers and graduate programs from a wide variety of industries and disciplines to campus to meet with more than 1,000 Emory students exploring internships, full-time opportunities and advanced study.

Learn more at the Emory College of Arts and Sciences website.

Goizueta Business School 

Incoming classes: Goizueta welcomes 950+ students for the new academic year, including more than 450 Emory and direct transfer students and nearly 100 exchange students in the BBA program and more than 400 graduate students in the MBA programs and specialized master’s degrees.

New dean: Saby Mitra began his tenure as dean of Goizueta Business School on Aug. 1. An accomplished academic leader and expert in information systems and technology management, Mitra joins Emory from the University of Florida, where he served as dean of the Warrington College of Business.

New real estate center: Launched in spring 2026, the BL Harbert Real Estate Center is expanding Goizueta’s engagement with the real estate industry and leveraging Atlanta’s position as one of the nation’s most dynamic real estate markets. Real estate executive Joel Murphy has been named the center’s executive director and will lead efforts to deepen industry partnerships, enhance course options and strengthen career pathways for students.

Expanding degree options: Goizueta has expanded its One-Year MBA with four degree options (Accelerated MBA, Global MBA, Healthcare MBA and Real Estate MBA), giving students more ways to tailor their MBA experience to their career goals. Goizueta also continues to strengthen its interdisciplinary partnership with Rollins School of Public Health through the jointly delivered Master of Health Administration, preparing leaders to address complex challenges at the intersection of business, healthcare and public health.

Learn more at the Goizueta Business School website.

James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies 

Incoming class: The James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies welcomes 411 new students this academic year. Seventy-one percent of the incoming class are pursuing doctoral degrees; 28% are pursuing master’s degrees; and 1% are completing certificates. Together, the new cohort represents 38 states and 48 countries. 

New leadership: Prudence J. Oliver joined the graduate school as its new associate dean of academic operations. Oliver brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education administration, with deep expertise in enrollment management. In this role, Oliver provides leadership for the academic and administrative processes that support Laney’s graduate programs, students and faculty.

Scholarship in action: Eric Villalobos, a doctoral candidate in religion, received a Fulbright award to conduct research in Rajasthan, India. His work examines Jain monks who served as medical practitioners during the colonial era. Villalobos follows fellow religion doctoral student Anya Fredsell, who earned a Fulbright award last year, continuing the department’s strong record of international scholarship.

Supporting student flourishing: The graduate school recently introduced Flourishing at Laney, a new initiative that supports graduate students’ well-being and success through workshops, events and community experiences that encourage intellectual, emotional and personal growth. Laney students are encouraged to visit the Flourishing page on the Emory Hub to explore upcoming events and opportunities to connect with the graduate community.

Strengthening scholarly communication through Laney-PACS: Laney Graduate School launched Laney-PACS to help students communicate their ideas with clarity and confidence. Through writing consultations and the Speaking Studio, students receive individualized support for academic writing, presentations and other forms of scholarly communication.

Learn more at the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies website.

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing 

Incoming class: The School of Nursing is excited to welcome more than 600 students this fall across pre- and post-licensure programs.

New leadership: The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is thrilled to have welcomed Dean Sean Clarke on Aug. 1. Clarke is the seventh dean of the School of Nursing. He joined Emory from New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, where he served as professor and the Ursula Springer Chair in Nursing Leadership, following prior service as executive vice dean.

New program offerings: The School of Nursing is expanding its academic offerings with new Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition and Master of Science in Health Care Analytics programs.

New alumni: The school celebrated more than 150 of its newest alumni during the August graduation and pinning ceremony. These students graduated from a wide range of pre- and post-licensure programs.

New rankings: The School of Nursing master's degree program was ranked best in the nation for the fourth consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report. The school’s undergraduate program is also ranked No. 2 by U.S. News.

Faculty honors: Eight members of the Emory Nursing community will be among the distinguished nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing 2026 Class of Fellows this fall for their substantial contributions to improving health and transforming healthcare. 

Learn more at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing website. 

Oxford College

Incoming class: This fall semester, Oxford welcomes 533 students representing 38 U.S. states, two U.S. territories and 37 different countries. They were chosen out of an applicant pool of more than 27,000 students. 

Oxford London launch: Building on last year’s successful debut of incoming students beginning their Oxford studies in London, the program returned with a record enrollment of 49 students. This fall, Leyla Eghbalzad, assistant professor of psychology, and Anouar El Younssi, associate professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, will join this year’s students, teaching their Discovery Seminar course and additional courses as part of students’ general education curriculum.

New faculty and staff: Oxford welcomes three new faculty members to campus this fall:

• Mary Kelaita, associate professor (without tenure) of biological anthropology
• Jiwon Min, assistant professor of English
• Vanessa Yee-Kwan Wong, assistant professor of Chinese

Oxford pre-college Ox-perience: Sixteen high school students from across the country embarked on an unforgettable two-week experience that gave them a taste of life at Oxford. This inaugural cohort explored biodiversity, learned how to write a standout college essay and, for some, tackled the challenge of independence for the first time.

New within humanities: Starting this fall, students can complete the new PATHS (Professional Advancement Through Humanities Study) certificates. PATHS certificates provide students with a credential that demonstrates the development of skills that employers value through study in the humanities. Certificates are available in four areas: communication and critical thinking, creativity and innovation, global engagement, and social responsibility and ethics.

Learn more at the Oxford College website. 

Rollins School of Public Health 

Incoming class: Rollins welcomes 450 Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) students, 22 Master of Health Administration (MHA) and 87 Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students this fall. The Rollins student body represents 39 U.S. states and 44 countries.

New programs: This fall marks the launch of the new MHA and MSPH in Data Science programs at Rollins. The school also welcomes its first cohort of DrPH students into two new concentrations: Applied AI and Data Translation and Leadership for Public Health Policy. Rollins has also expanded its online program offerings. Two new online part-time MPH programs in epidemiology and global epidemiology begin this fall, as well as accelerated full-time programs in global health and behavioral, social and health education sciences.

Georgia’s first Superfund Research Center: Rollins researchers received funding from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences to establish Georgia’s first Superfund Research Center. The center will focus on industrial pollution in Glynn County from contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and toxaphene. The center is led by environmental health professor Dana Barr and associate professor Noah Scovronick in collaboration with faculty from Emory, the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College and Texas Tech University.

Learn more at the Rollins School of Public Health website.

School of Law 

Incoming class: Emory Law welcomes new 274 new students for the SJD, JD, LLM and MLS programs — and 73% of entering students are one or more years removed from undergraduate studies. 

New concentrations: Now, JD and LLM students have the opportunity to choose one of two new concentrations, including Environmental Law and AI and the Law. 

New faculty: The law school welcomes Geeyoung Min, associate professor of law; Kathy Rogers, dean’s teaching professor; and Mary Webb, assistant professor of practice. Chris Katrakis, Henry Leaman and Kyle Skinner, who were visitors last year, have joined Emory Law as assistant professors of practice.

New name: The Juvenile Defender Clinic has, upon its 20th anniversary, changed its name to the Youth Justice Clinic. The YJC is an in-house legal clinic dedicated to providing holistic legal representation for children in delinquency proceedings. Emory Law students have represented hundreds of young people since the clinic was founded in 2006.

Upcoming events:

• 2026 EPIC Conference: Deportation, Due Process, and the Fight for Rights: Saturday, Sept. 26
• Sheth Lecture in India Studies: Thursday, Oct. 8

 Learn more at the School of Law website. 

School of Medicine 

Incoming students: This summer, 138 students matriculated to the MD program. Of this class, 87% are non-traditional students (meaning they have been out of college for a year or more), and their ages range from 21-39. Eighteen students received other graduate degrees prior to medical school; 52 are from Georgia. 

• The 55 students in the Physician Assistant (PA) program Class of 2028 were selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants. They have an average of more than 5,100 hours of healthcare experience prior to Emory. PA students experience an immersive education of classroom learning, clinical exams, didactic clinical patient encounters at Emory Healthcare, and more. They also will take a two-semester anatomy course with the MD program to foster healthy cross-program interprofessional relationships and team-based healthcare after graduation. 
• On May 20, the Medical Imaging RT to BMSc Bridge Program welcomed its largest class in program history, with 25 credentialed medical imaging professionals embarking on their journey to bridge from an associate’s to a bachelor's degree in three semesters. Class members are working professionals balancing work, life, a rigorous online didactic curriculum and clinical or shadowing rotations in their chosen minor track of radiology administration, MRI or radiography education. 
• On June 1, the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program welcomed 55 students in the Class of 2029. The most common undergraduate majors include exercise science, kinesiology and psychology. The DPT program was ranked no. 8 in the country according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Schools.
• The Anesthesiologist Assistant (AA) program’s Class of 2028 began on Aug. 10. Selected from one of the largest applicant pools in the program’s history, the 42 students of the incoming cohort bring a wide range of backgrounds and prior healthcare experience from across the U.S. 
• Orientation for the Genetic Counseling Training Program began on Aug. 10 with an incoming cohort of 13 students, the largest class in program history. Before orientation, incoming students participated in interviews with potential Focus Internship mentors so they could start their research projects soon after arrival. Potential projects this year span multiple areas of practice and include genetic conditions across the lifespan as well as bioethics, medical education and genetics service delivery.
• On Sept. 8, classes will start for the Radiologic Technology Certificate Program, which is the most recent addition to the School of Medicine’s health professions program offerings. Over two years, these students learn to use medical imaging to diagnose various conditions. Emory Decatur Hospital, where the program has operated since 1962, will continue to serve as the off-campus instructional site.

Beginning their journey together: First-year students in the AA, PA, genetic counseling and MD programs participated in collaborative orientation courses called “Crossing the Threshold Together.” The combined orientation (a School of Medicine first) includes dedicated time for reflection, professional identify formation and community-building activities and serves as the foundation of school culture. 

New leaders: After 22 years of visionary leadership as executive associate dean of medical education and student affairs in the School of Medicine, J. William (Bill) Eley will step down from his role in September. Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education April Buchanan will assume leadership of medical education and student affairs. Eley will continue seeing patients at Grady Memorial Hospital and working to help caregivers find joy in practice with the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. The School of Medicine is deeply grateful for his lasting impact on the school’s learners and education mission.  

New dual degree program: The new Doctor of Medicine/Master of Science in robotics dual degree program, one of the first of its kind in the U.S., launches this year and is designed for medical students who want to pair physician training with formal graduate education in robotics. Built in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology, the program prepares future physician-innovators to work at the intersection of clinical care, engineering and translational research. The pathway is completed over five years and leads to two degrees: the MD from Emory and the MS in robotics from Georgia Tech.

Learn more at the School of Medicine website.

All photos by Emory Photo/Video.