Emory Healthcare Inc.

01/17/2025 | Press release | Archived content

Spring semester brings new programs, inspiring events to campus

The nine schools that make up Emory University head into the new semester with innovative initiatives, achievements to celebrate and a full slate of engaging speakers and events for spring.

Here's a roundup of what's new and noteworthy, as listed by each school.


Candler School of Theology

New faculty: Retired United Methodist Bishop Hope Morgan Ward joins the Candler faculty this semester as bishop-in-residence, with a focus on student mentorship.

Noteworthy events: On Sunday, Feb.23, the next edition of the popular TheoEd Talks series will take place in Nashville and via livestream, featuring a slate of faith leaders, scholars and artists - including Enneagram expert Suzanne Stabile - giving "the talk of their lives" in 20 minutes or less. The Candler Foundry offers public theological education classes online and in person throughout the year, including "AI and the Future of Christianity,"beginning Tuesday, March 4. Candler's 2025 Bandy Preaching Conference, "Sacred Symphonies: The Word and Song," will be held on campus March 25-27 and will celebrate the collaborative creativity of the preacher and psalmist in the worship experience. Finally, biblical scholar and former president of Union Presbyterian Seminary Bryan K. Blount will deliver the McDonald Lectures. He will address "Before He Was White: Jesus, Mark, and the Politics of Inclusion" on Wednesday, April 16, and "The Narrative Color of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark" on Wednesday, April 23.

Program enhancement: Candler's Master of Religion and Public Lifeis a 36-hour degree program for those who want to delve into an aspect of religion or theology and its intersection with the public sphere. Now, MRPL students can focus on a particular interest by pursuing one of Candler's academic certificates, such as human rights, religion and health, Catholic studies, and beginning in fall 2025, justice, peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Courtesy scholarships are available for Emory employees to study in person, online or both.

Learn more at the Candler School of Theology website.


Emory College of Arts and Sciences

Save the date: Emory College, the Pathways Center, University Libraries and the Department of Dance will host Misty Copeland, the first Black female principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, on campus Tuesday, March 25. Her visit includes a public talk, "Wind at My Back: An Evening Conversation with Misty Copeland," at 7:30 p.m. in the Emory Student Center.

King Week: Emory College celebrates the 2025 King Week with several events, including the Distinguished King Week keynote sponsored by the Department of African American Studies with Mary-Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a College Communities Dinner and Arts and Empathy Walk just for students. Learn more here.

ATLBound: Emory College welcomed 130 new Oxford College graduates with a special reception held Jan. 13. The College's ATLBound programming continues this spring with two campus fairs in February and an Academic Showcase on Thursday, March 20. ATLBound, a collaboration between Emory's Atlanta and Oxford campuses, offers programs and resources designed to facilitate a smooth transition for Oxford students to the Atlanta campus. Learn more about ATLBound here.

On the move: The B. Jones Center will undergo renovations later this semester to become the future home of the Pathways Center. Pathways offices currently located in B. Jones are temporarily relocating to R. Randall Rollins, with the exception of Career and Professional Development, which will move to the Woodruff Library in early March.

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


Goizueta Business School

Tuition scholarship: Goizueta is thrilled to offer a 30% tuition scholarship for current Emory undergraduate students accepted into the Master in Management, Master of Finance, or MS in Business Analytics programs during the 2024-25 application cycle. Learn more about the program.

Empowering entrepreneurs: In conjunction with Techstars, the world's most active pre-seed investor, Goizueta Business School and The Hatchery, Center for Innovation, are launching the Techstars Emory Founder Catalyst program. This free ,fast-paced, 10-week program focuses on empowering Emory's early-stage entrepreneurs with world-class startup education, mentorship and opportunities to scale their ventures.

The 9th Emory Goizueta Entrepreneurship Summit will be held Thursday, April 10, and Friday, April 11. The annual event educates and inspires students, alumni and community partners through interactive workshops, noteworthy speakers and networking opportunities. Student entrepreneurs also compete in the highly anticipated pitch contest.

Real estate conference: The 4th Annual Emory Goizueta Real Estate Conference returns on Thursday, April 17. Building on last year's sold-out success, the event features panels and networking with top professionals, alumni and students, cementing Goizueta's reputation as a hub for real estate education and leadership. Registration opens in early February.

Learn more at the Goizueta Business School website.


Laney Graduate School

2025 LGS Awards: Save the date for the 2025 LGS Awards. This year's ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall. We invite nomination submissions from across the LGS community including alumni, faculty, staff and students. Self-nominations are welcome, though potential nominees are encouraged to seek nominations from others. For more information email [email protected].

Student honors: Laney Graduate School genetics and molecular biology PhD candidate Yemko Pryor was awarded the prestigious Kharen Fulton Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement for 2024-25.

LGS Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) and Master's Showcase Competition: The 3MT and Master's Showcase contests challenges LGS students to present a concise, intriguing lecture on their theses to a non-specialist judgingpanel. Preliminary applications are now open to be considered for the contest in the spring of 2025.

Graduate Student Appreciation Week: LGS will celebrate Graduate Student Appreciation Week April 7-11, 2025. Students can expect a range of events throughout the week.

Learn more at the Laney Graduate School website.


Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Top ranking: U.S. News & World Report ranked the school's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program No. 1 nationwide. The school now holds top rankings in bachelor's and master's degree programs.

Winter graduation: The school held commencement ceremonies in December, adding 337 graduates to its alumni community. The school holds graduations three times per year.

National Institutes of Health funding: The school is No. 3 among U.S. nursing schools in NIH funding. The school has been in the top five for 10 consecutive years.

National honors: The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) honored Dean Linda McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, with the David Rall Medal, given to an Academy member for extraordinary leadership as a study committee chair. Assistant professor Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN, FAAN, was selected to participate in the American Academy of Nursing Fellowship, part of the NAM Fellowships program.

Simulation recognition: This fall, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare granted Provisional Accreditation to the school's simulation program, housed at the Emory Nursing Learning Center. Society for Simulation in Healthcare accreditation is the gold standard in simulation.

Inaugural cohort: Part of efforts to bolster the nursing workforce, the school has welcomed its first cohort of Master of Nursing (MN) students starting studies in the spring semester. The MN program allows students with degrees in other disciplines to earn an MN, with options of working as a registered nurse or continuing in the Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice programs.

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


Oxford College

Incoming class: This year, Oxford welcomes 91 incoming spring start students. In this group, we had students from 22 different states, and seven students who attended schools from other countries - such as the UAE, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

Early Decision 1: On Dec. 11, 2024, our Early Decision 1 candidates were notified of their acceptance to Oxford. As of now, with the Class of 2029, we have 153 students enrolling from 16 states and six countries.

London Launch: As we sunset the spring start program, we are happy to announce that the London Launch program will allow for students to start their Oxford journey in the UK for their first semester at Oxford. The Oxford London Launch program will have two staff members, Sarah Higinbotham, assistant professor of English, and Pablo Palomino, associate professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, join the students to teach and guide students during this trip. Natalie Raymond has also been promoted and selected as Oxford's new program coordinator, where she joins the Global Oxford team and will lead in the London Launch program.

Oxford communications and marketing: Oxford welcomes Travis Jordan, who is our new senior director of communications at Oxford. He brings more than a decade of leadership in higher education and organizational branding. Read more about Travis and what he brings to Oxford here.

Oxford human resources: Oxford also welcomes Lindsey Van Note, who is our newest senior director of human resources, people and culture. Van Note has served in HR for almost 20 years. In her previous position, she led the HR management of the Dual Career Assistance Program, the Executive and Faculty Search Group and special projects.

Oxford's Celebration of The Life of Martin Luther King will take place Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Church. The keynote address will be led by Bishop Robin Dease, and the musical reflection will be led by Dr. Marvin McNeill. Oxappella will also be performing, as well as the MLK Interdenominational Choir. Lucero Alvarado will be presented during this celebration as this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. scholar.

Learn more at the Oxford College website.


Rollins School of Public Health

New research hubs: As part of Rollins' five-year strategic plan, the school is strengthening research innovation and collaboration through establishing research hubs that bring together key faculty around important public health topics. Rollins is currently in the process of launching hubs focused on climate health, mental health, and aging and disabilities.

Revamped Luminaries lecture series: In the fall, Rollins relaunched its annual lecture series. Now called Luminaries, the events bring in top experts on the most pressing public health issues to lend their expertise to the Emory community. Some highlights so far have included Ushma Upadhyay, PhD, speaking about abortion access post-Roe and a post-election panel with Emory experts.

Having courageous conversations: The Rollins Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion launched several new initiatives this fall to train faculty, staff and students to feel confident and compassionate in difficult conversations with community members at Rollins, in Atlanta and beyond. These include the Courage in Conversation and Connection training series, the C.A.R.E. (Communicating with Curiosity, Attention, Responsiveness and Empathy) Fellows Program and more.

New certificate coming soon: Rollins is launching a Science Communication Certificate for students enrolling in fall 2025. The increasing prevalence of health misinformation and disinformation highlights the urgent need for public health professionals to effectively convey scientific data and conclusions through writing, multimedia and storytelling. The Science Communication Certificate will train students on everything from science communication fundamentals to working with the media, and more.

Learn more at the Rollins School of Public Health website.


School of Law

Special events: The Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture -"The Injustice of Poverty: King's Fight for Economic Equality" - was held Wednesday, Jan. 15. The Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) will host its 28th annual Inspiration Awards honoring students, donors and alumni Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 6:30 p.m. in Tull Auditorium. Other events taking place at Emory Law this semester include:

Learn more at the School of Law website.


School of Medicine

Education transformation: Education leaders in the School of Medicine continue working to transform education across all degree programs in the school. This spring, program educators are beginning to pilot two new pedagogical approaches to medical education: cognitive apprenticeship and complex learning. The educators attended workshops in fall 2024 to learn these approaches. Later this spring, the school will host an event to showcase and discuss lessons learned from the education transformation pilots.

New certificate program: We are now offering a Radiologic Technology Certificate Program under the umbrella of Emory School of Medicine's Health Professions Programs. Upon completion of this 24-month, full-time certification program, students will be eligible to take the national American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) exam. After passing the exam, the graduate becomes a registered radiologic technologist (radiographer), or RT. Learn more.

Learn more at the School of Medicine website.