Emory Names Grad School After James Laney

The Emory University Board of Trustees has approved naming the Graduate School in honor of President Emeritus James T. Laney, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, who led the university from 1977 until 1994, a time when it emerged as a national research university.

"The naming of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies honors the vision and leadership of Jim Laney, whose ambitious plan for Emory revolved around graduate education," said Emory President James Wagner. "He understood clearly that the core of great research universities lies in the training of new generations of intellectual leaders for the academy and for the public good."

"Emory's decision to name the Graduate School for me is the greatest honor of my life," said Laney. "From the very first, Emory has been in my heart, and I am deeply touched and humbled to always be associated with the university in such a special way."

Lisa A. Tedesco, dean of the newly designated Laney Graduate School, said that "naming the graduate school is a fitting way to acknowledge President Laney because it recognizes his vision for the central role of doctoral education in establishing and sustaining a great research university at the forefront of discovery in the sciences and humanities."

Emory Among '2009 Great Colleges to Work For'

Emory University has been named to the honor roll in The Chronicle of Higher Education's 2009 Great Colleges to Work For program, its second annual nationwide survey of 41,000 administrators, faculty and staff of two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Emory was selected based on its responses to a questionnaire covering everything from salary, benefits and programs that support faculty and staff, to leadership development and governance structure.

"That Emory faculty and staff find the university a wonderful place to work is a testament to the entire community," says Emory President James Wagner. "Throughout our campus people are working hard every day to make a positive difference — and it shows."

The Chronicle's Great Colleges to Work For program recognizes groups of colleges (based on enrollment size) for specific best practices and policies. There are 26 recognition categories for four-year institutions. Of the 247 institutions that completed the entire survey process, 39 were named to an honor roll, which highlights the top 10 colleges in each size category based on the number of times they were recognized in the individual recognition categories.

Emory was recognized in 11 categories, including: compensation and benefits; physical workspace conditions; confidence in senior leadership; disability insurance; facilities and security; healthy faculty-administration relations; internal communications; policies, resources and efficiency; respect and appreciation; teaching environment; and tenure clarity and process.

"The survey participants value Emory for its teaching environment, its working conditions, leadership, relationships and collegiality," says Peter Barnes, Emory's vice president of human resources. "As one considers what it means to be a destination in which faculty and staff seek to be a part, we are clearly well on the way."

"Despite the down economy, colleges are still hiring," says Jeffrey Selingo, editor of The Chronicle. "Through this program, The Chronicle is able to provide more information to job seekers about the colleges that are the leading innovators when it comes to providing a rewarding work environment."

The Great Colleges survey included a two-part assessment process: a survey administered to faculty, administrators and professional-support staff, and an institutional audit that captured demographics and workplace policies and practices from each institution. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback collected from faculty and staff.

Emory Hosts Youth Theological Summer Academy

Forty-five rising high school seniors are gathering at Emory University's Candler School of Theology for the 2009 Youth Theological Initiative (YTI) Summer Academy, an intensive, residential program of justice-seeking theology education for young people.

The academy, which is taking place June 27-July 18, is held on the Emory campus and at various sites around Atlanta.

"Since YTI’s Summer Academy began in 1993 through a grant from the Lilly Endowment, more than 850 rising high school seniors have participated," says Elizabeth Corrie, director of YTI. Students are recruited through church congregations, schools, academy alumni and Emory's admissions office. The program strives for gender balance, racial and ethnic diversity, and denominational variety, says Corrie.

"It's a formative and transformative experience for participants, who live in dormitories, study theology and faith in a way most never have before, and meet peers who have backgrounds vastly different from their own," says Corrie. The 2009 class includes about 16 United Methodists, 12-14 Baptists, five Roman Catholics, and two youths from the Methodist Church of the Bahamas.

In addition to taking classes, students engage in ecumenical worship, attend workshops with Candler faculty, work with agencies in the Atlanta community, and build intentional community with one another.

The 2009 academy will feature a special program exploring ethical issues, including ecology and environmental justice; racial justice and civil rights; and migration, immigration and labor. The program will include visits to historic sites in Atlanta that place the issues in a broader context and volunteering with local organizations and Christian communities that are responding meaningfully to these challenges today.

Participants also will engage in interfaith dialogue and participate in a “Day of Interfaith Youth Service” with an additional 20-40 youth from the Muslim and Jewish communities on July 13.

Americans Finding Religion in Unlikely Places

Religion and ritual in America are coming from some unlikely places, according to a new book by Emory University's Gary Laderman.

In "Sacred Matters," Laderman argues that far from being on the decline, religion in the United States is everywhere, but there are "many more holy possibilities" than the so-called "great religions of the Book"—Islam, Christianity or Judaism.

"Religion in America is a robust, dynamic, shape-shifting force, free-floating and unhinged from conventional anchors," says Laderman, a professor of American religious history and cultures.

He argues that Americans more than ever are finding religious experiences not just in age-old traditions, but "in the cultural sea of rock stars and casinos, virtual memorials and Prozac.

What inspired Laderman's wide-open view of the sacred was 15 years experience teaching undergraduates. When he'd ask them to give their definition of religion, "it became clear that it's impossible to come to a definition that everyone is going to agree on."Instead, Laderman decided to come at religion from a different set of qualities, "looking at people's behaviors and how they use language to find other kinds of spiritual and sacred perspectives."

The book's subtitle gives some ideas about where Laderman found religious activity: celebrity worship, sexual ecstasies and the living dead are listed among today's "signs of religious life in the United States." The book's chapters read like a mixture of "false gods" railed against by organized religion (film, music, sports, celebrity) and some of life's most enduring concerns: death, sexuality, violence, science and medicine. For each of these arenas, Laderman says, there are participants whose behaviors and language indicate a quest for the spiritual and the sacred.

"I stay away from giving a substantive definition of the sacred," says Laderman. "I know it's real. And I know it can be found in different societies and different cultures." He does find certain markers that indicate the sacred. What all these markers have in common is going beyond "just a purely material understanding of the cosmos, the 'something more' than just the material, the biological, which every culture provides."Laderman's ultimate point is that there are no atheists. "We're all religious," he says. "It's just part of human makeup. There may be people who don't believe in a personal god or who don't subscribe to monotheism." But everyone has a value system, or an important community they identify with, or experiences that have felt transformative. "These are all signposts of the sacred."

Laderman also serves as editor of a new online religion magazine, ReligionDispatches.org. "Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States" is published by New Press.

Oxford College Institute Shapes Environmental Education

The 2009 Oxford Institute for Environmental Education (OIEE) began this week at Oxhouse Science Center, science field station of Oxford College of Emory University.

Founded in 1992, OIEE provides an opportunity for science teachers in grades k-12 to collaborate with college biology faculty, gaining new science teaching methods and investigative techniques.

“My colleagues and I look forward each year to the two weeks of OIEE,” says Steven Baker, Oxford professor of biology and OIEE director. “Environmental concerns are global, but education starts on the local level; it is exciting for us to work with the teachers of our region in employing best practices for imparting environmental awareness and methods to their students.”

Teachers must apply to attend OIEE. The 20 who are participating this year were selected from more than 80 applicants and represent schools across Georgia and north Florida.

During the 10-day seminar, which ends on June 19, participants learn the basic principles of ecology in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, methods for applying this knowledge to lesson plans and ways to develop their own schoolyards for environmental education. At a follow-up meeting in the fall, teachers will share their experiences in implementing what they learn this summer and discuss their continuing projects.

The OIEE staff includes Baker as well as Eloise Carter and Theodosia Wade, also of Oxford's Department of Biology. Master teacher for the institute is Sherry Abts, an award-winning science specialist with the Gwinnett County (Georgia) Public Schools.Major funding for OIEE comes from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, with additional support from the Chevron Foundation, Georgia Power Foundation, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Georgia Teacher Quality Program and Wal-Mart. The institute has been awarded the Certificate of Environmental Achievement Award from the National Awards Council for Environmental Sustainability and named Conservation Educator of the Year Award by the Georgia Wildlife Federation.

More information can be found on the Web site, http://www.oiee.oxford.emory.edu/.

Emory University to Hold Commencement May 11

Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox will deliver the keynote address at Emory University's 164th commencement ceremony Monday, May 11. He will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.

The central ceremony, starting at 8 a.m., will be followed by individual college and school diploma ceremonies. Commencement will be broadcast live and then archived via the Internet. To view, go to: http://www.emory.edu/commencement/.

Emory President James Wagner will preside at the 90-minute ceremony. The event will take place on the Emory quadrangle for about 3,500 graduating students and their families.

Three other individuals also will be recognized during commencement with honorary degrees: Nancy Cantor, chancellor and president of Syracuse University, who will receive a doctor of laws; former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, currently director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, who will receive a doctor of science; and Robert Spano, Grammy-Award winning conductor and music director for the Atlanta Symphony, who will receive a doctor of music.

The academic procession under the direction of Chief Marshal Ray DuVarney, professor of physics, will be led across the university's historic quadrangle by the kilt-clad Atlanta Pipe Band. DuVarney will retire as chief marshal after serving more than 10 years as leader of the procession. Dressed in full Scottish Highland attire, the drum and bagpipe ensemble will march to "Emory and Old St. Andrews March," written by Emory alumnus Henry Frantz Jr. in honor of Emory's sister institution, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Members of the procession will be dressed in the academic regalia of caps, gowns and hoods adopted by the class of 1902.

Depending on their field of study, the hoods of graduates will be scarlet, gold, purple, salmon, sapphire, apricot, white, green or dark blue.The Thomas Jefferson Award, the university's premier faculty/administrative officer award for significant service to the institution, and the University Scholar/Teacher Award, given on behalf of the United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and Ministry, will be presented. The Marion Luther Brittain Award, the most prestigious student award for service to the university, also will be given.

Following the central ceremony, students will report to various locations on campus to receive diplomas from their individual schools.

The diploma ceremony for the Emory College of Arts and Science will be held on the quadrangle, during which time the McMullan Award, which comes with $20,000, no strings attached, will be presented.

Emory Hosts Religion and Public Health Research Symposium

The Religion and Public Health Collaborative at Emory University will host a symposium April 30 showcasing faculty and student research at the intersection of religion and health.

The research symposium will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Emory Conference Center located at 1615 Clifton Road in Atlanta. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. To RSVP, email: slandsk@emory.edu.

The Religion and Public Health Collaborative research symposium includes more than three dozen poster presentations that represent past and present research conducted by interdisciplinary Emory research teams. Emory President James Wagner, PhD, will present opening remarks, and Provost Earl Lewis, PhD, will lead a panel discussion on religion and public health.

The panelists include:

*James Curran, MD, MPH, dean, Rollins School of Public Health:Curran is a renowned HIV/AIDS researcher and was part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research team that responded to initial outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in the 1980s.

*Laurie Patton, PhD, director, Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, and professor of religion:Patton's teaching and research focuses on interpretation of early Indian ritual and narrative, comparative mythology, and literary theory in the study of religion.

*Claire Sterk, PhD, senior vice provost for academic affairs, and professor of behavioral science and health education, Rollins School of Public Health:Sterk's primary research interests are addiction/mental health and HIV/AIDS, with a focus on women's issues, health disparities, and community-based behavioral interventions.

*Lisa Tedesco, PhD, dean, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and professor, behavioral science and health education, Rollins School of Public Health: Tedesco is working to establish training programs that partner researchers in schools of medicine with those in schools of public health, as well as with a diverse range of other partners.

For more information, visit http://www.rhcemory.org/

Emory President, Renowned Neurologist Honored for Work

Emory University President James Wagner and Emory Professor of Neurology Mahlon DeLong, M. D., have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

The Academy, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and a center for independent policy research, announced their selection April 20. They are among the 210 new fellows and 19 Foreign Honorary Members representing leaders in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, business, public affairs and the nonprofit sector.

This year’s group includes Nobel laureates and recipients of the Pulitzer and Pritzker prizes, MacArthur Fellowships, Academy, Grammy and Tony awards, and the National Medal of Arts. The scholars, scientists, jurists, writers, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders come from 28 states and 11 countries and range in age from 33 to 83. They represent universities, museums, national laboratories, private research institutes, businesses and foundations.

• Wagner is an award-winning teacher and scientist who became the 19th president of Emory University in 2003. Following a distinguished tenure on the faculty of Johns Hopkins, Wagner served as dean, provost and interim president of Case Western Reserve University before joining Emory. Wagner has authored more than 115 publications and has served as editor or editorial board member for several publications. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in clinical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins as well. In 2007, Wagner received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering and the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association.

Throughout his administrative career, Wagner has worked closely with faculty, students, alumni and staff to enhance the undergraduate educational experience, grow research, and foster more effective partnership between the academy and local institutions, including government and industry. Currently Wagner serves on the boards of The Carter Center, the Georgia Research Alliance, SunTrust Banks, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Woodruff Arts Center. For the 2008-2009 academic year, Wagner is serving as chair of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE).

• DeLong is the William Timmie Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. He has played a major role in research discoveries about the functional organization of the brain and its role in movement and movement disorders. DeLong’s studies have led to the development of new and effective surgical approaches for the improved treatment of Parkinson’s disease and therapies for other movement and neuropsychiatric disorders.Among numerous awards, DeLong recently received the 2008 Movement Disorders Society Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2009 American Academy of Neurology Movement Disorders Research Award.

He is recognized by Health America as one of the Top Doctors in Neurology for the treatment of movement disorders. DeLong was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars and is a past chair of the Society for Neuroscience. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and currently serves as chair of its section on neuroscience. He is scientific director of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the American Parkinson Disease Association. DeLong received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his medical degree from Harvard University.

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct.10, at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Gov. Perdue Notes NCI Cancer Center Designation

Gov. Sonny Perdue this week announced that Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute has earned the coveted National Cancer Institute Cancer Center designation.

Winship is the first medical facility in Georgia to earn this distinction. As an NCI designated center, Winship joins an elite group of 64 cancer centers nationwide that are on the forefront of the battle against cancer.

Winship’s NCI designation will reportedly benefit patients through increased access to new clinical trials and technologies that are available through NCI-designated cancer centers.

As an NCI-designated center, Winship will receive more than $4.2 million in funding over the next three years to grow scientific research. The NCI will then review Emory’s designation for a five-year renewal. According to the NCI, a designated cancer center’s research components are the core of a much larger assembly of cancer activities, including clinical care, support services and education, extending the benefits of research directly to patients, their families, and the general public.

The Winship Cancer Institute is part of Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory Healthcare and Emory University. Researchers and clinical members of the cancer center are faculty at Emory or at partner institutions such as Georgia Institute of Technology. Faculty members collaborate with national and state agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society.

The Winship Cancer Institute was established in 1937 through a $50,000 gift to Emory from Coca Cola CEO Robert Woodruff, who named the center after his grandfather, Robert Winship. Woodruff’s vision was for a center that focused on research, education and patient care.

The Woodruff Foundation has continued to support Emory in achieving this vision, and in 2002 Emory dedicated the 275,000 square-foot Winship Cancer Institute building, constructed with funds from the Woodruff Foundation and designed to facilitate development of new and more effective cancer treatments.

Alice Walker Archive Opens at Emory April 23

The first public exhibition of papers and other memorabilia from the extraordinary archives of Georgia-born Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker will open at Emory University Thursday, April 23.

The university will celebrate the opening with a daylong symposium on the author's art and life Friday, April 24, followed by a public talk by Walker at 8 p.m. that evening.

"A Keeping of Records: The Art and Life of Alice Walker," which opens in the Schatten Gallery of the Robert W. Woodruff Library, features 200 items drawn from one of the most complete archives in existence, according to curator Rudolph Byrd, Goodrich C. White Professor of American Studies.

Among the materials featured in the exhibition are Walker's scrapbook, which she began keeping when she was 14 years old; drafts of her early writings; photographs; and her notebooks, including those for "The Color Purple." The quilt Walker created while writing "The Color Purple" will be on display April 23 and 24.

"The Walker archive is unique among archives at Emory and elsewhere for its richness," says Byrd. "It is evidence of Walker's belief and self-awareness that she would become an important American writer. The materials date back to her sixth year of life and end in 2007, and include drafts of all her manuscripts, handwritten and typed."

The exhibition highlights the major periods, events and projects in Walker's life in chronological order; explores her personal and professional life roles; and establishes the cultural and historical context in which she worked.

The daylong symposium on Walker is scheduled April 24 at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. Sponsored by Emory's James Weldon Johnson Institute, the 8:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m. symposium features:

• Gloria Steinem, journalist, activist and co-founding publisher of Ms. Magazine

• Howard Zinn, American historian and professor emeritus at Boston University, active in civil rights, civil liberties and anti-war movements

• Susan Booth, artistic director of Atlanta's Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center

• Michael Awkward, Afro-American literature and culture scholar, University of Michigan

• Scott Sanders, producer of "The Color Purple" at the Broadway Theater in New York in December 2006

• Susan Kirshner, British and women's literature scholar, Lewis and Clark College

• Deborah Plant, Africana studies scholar, University of South Florida

• Cheryl Wall, scholar of English literature and Black female writers, Rutgers University

• Evelyn White, journalist and independent scholar who authored "Alice Walker: A Life."

The symposium is followed that evening by an 8 p.m. talk by Walker. "Reflections on the Turning of the Wheel: Living a Life of Freedom and Choice" is scheduled for Glenn Memorial Auditorium, 1652 N. Decatur Rd.

Walker has authored 26 books that span the genres of the novel, poetry and the essay. In 1983 she won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her novel "The Color Purple," which has been adapted for film and stage. Walker placed her archive at Emory in 2007.

Emory Bioarcheology Pioneer Honored with Award

Emory University professor George Armelagos has won the 2008 Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA).

"The Charles R. Darwin Award is given to our most distinguished members. The recipients are like a 'who's who' of the most prominent people in the field," said Fred Smith, president of the AAPA, who presented the award April 3 in Chicago, during the group's annual meeting.

"George was one of a small core of pioneers who actually developed the modern approach to what we call bioarcheology – the study of skeletal remains of past human populations. He has had an impact throughout the world on using skeletal analysis to shed insights on behaviors, health status and other aspects of past populations," Smith said."One of the other things that he has excelled at is mentoring excellent students," Smith added. "He has trained a number of top-flight bioarcheologists who have made significant contributions in their own right."

During his 15 years at Emory, as department chair and Goodrich C. White Professor, Armelagos has helped solidify the university's reputation as a national leader in the interdisciplinary, bio-cultural approach to anthropology.

"It's a big honor," Armelagos said of the award. "The great thing is that it's coming on the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'The Origin of Species.'"

Armelagos' studies of evolution and human diet have been especially revolutionary, and can provide clues to today's paradox of feast and famine: while parts of the world suffer from an obesity epidemic, other regions are plagued with starvation.

Earlier, Armelagos received the American Anthropological Association's 2008 Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology. The career achievement award is the highest honor given by the AAA, with previous winners including the likes of Margaret Mead.

Balmer to Speak at Emory University in April

Rev. Dr. Randall Balmer, McDonald distinguished visiting professor at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, will give two public lectures at Emory, April 2 and April 16. Both take place at 4:30 p.m. in Room 102 of Candler.

Balmer's April 2 lecture, titled "So Help Me God: Religion and the Presidency since John F. Kennedy," is based on the most recent of his dozen books, "God in the White House: A History: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush."

The April 16 lecture is "Mistaken Identity: Jimmy Carter, the Abortion Myth, and the Rise of the Religious Right."

A prize-winning historian and Emmy Award nominee, Balmer is professor of American religious history at Barnard College, Columbia University, and an Episcopal priest. He has published widely both in academic and scholarly journals and in the popular press.

An editor for Christianity Today since 1999, his commentaries on religion in America also have appeared in news publications across the country, including the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Slate.

Balmer's 1989 book, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America," was made into a three-part documentary for PBS. Balmer was nominated for an Emmy for his script-writing and for hosting that series in 1992-93. His second documentary, "Crusade: The Life of Billy Graham," was aired on PBS and also appeared in A&E's Biography series. "'In the Beginning': The Creationist Controversy," a two-part documentary on the creation-evolution debate, was first broadcast by PBS in 1995, then re-edited and broadcast in 2001.

The Alonzo L. McDonald Family Chair in the Study of Jesus and Culture was established at Emory in 1998 by the McDonald Agape Foundation, chaired by Alonzo McDonald, a longtime trustee of Emory. The McDonald Agape Foundation "supports lectures and other public presentations that deal creatively and imaginatively with the person and teachings of Jesus as they shape and form culture." The foundation has established McDonald chairs at Emory and at Harvard University.

The full title of the McDonald Chair at Emory has varied from year to year according to the field of the chosen professor. Balmer holds the Alonzo McDonald Family Chair on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and their Impact on Culture at Candler School of Theology.

Past holders of the visiting professorship in the McDonald chair include historian Jaroslav Pelikan; John Noonan, Ninth U.S. Current Court of Appeals; composer Alice Parker; and art historian Herbert Kessler, among others.

Events:

April 2, 2009 – Randall Balmer; "So Help Me God: Religion and the Presidency since John F. Kennedy," 4:30 p.m., Room 102, Candler School of Theology.

April 16, 2009 – Randall Balmer; "Mistaken Identity: Jimmy Carter, the Abortion Myth, and the Rise of the Religious Right." 4:30 p.m., Room 102, Candler School of Theology.

Emory Alum, Former NFL Player to Lead Forum March 25

An in-depth look at the ways in which race and sports have been intertwined at Emory University will be held Wednesday, March 25, when the university's Transforming Community Project holds a forum on “Changing the Game: Race and Sports at Emory.” The event begins at 4 p.m. in Cox Hall on the Emory campus and is free and open to the public.

Opening remarks will be given by Emory alumnus Pellom McDaniels III, a seven-year member of the National Football League (1993-1999), as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, and one of only a handful of former NFL players to earn a Ph.D. He also is a poet, artist and a teacher.

Now an assistant professor of history and American studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, McDaniels received both his master of arts degree (2006) and his doctoral degree (2007) in American studies from Emory's Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts with his dissertation “The Angle of Ascent: Race, Class, Sport, and the Representations of African American Masculinity." McDaniels’ publications also include “My Own Harlem’ (1998), “You Want to Be Pro” (2000) and “We’re American Too: The Negro Leagues and the Philosophy of Resistance” (2004).

The forum will be moderated by Emory alumnus Amri Johnson, a member of the Emory Alumni Board and its diversity and community board.

Other panelists include: Tim Downes, director of athletics and recreation at Emory; Lloyd Winston, former head coach of the men’s basketball team (1987-1992) and first African-American head coach at the university; Christy Thomaskutty, head women’s basketball coach; Jason Campbell, a member of the track and field program; and Amelia McCall of the volleyball team.

The panel discussion was made possible through the Transforming Community Project, a five-year initiative begun in 2005 to document the university’s past and confront current challenges around the issue of race, as well as the Caucus of Black Emory Alumni; the President’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity; Public Humanities Race and Difference Initiative; Emory Athletics and the Black Graduate Student Association.

Emory's Johnson Institute Celebrates Launch March 25

The spirit of author, composer, educator and civil rights pioneer James Weldon Johnson will infuse every aspect of the official March 25 launch of his namesake, Emory University's James Weldon Johnson Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies.

Highlights of the event include the reading of a specially commissioned commemorative poem by Emory Pulitzer-prize winning poet Natasha Trethewey, a performance of some of Johnson’s musical arrangements and statements of support from author Alice Walker and others.

“This is our formal introduction to the Emory community and to the community beyond Emory,” says Calinda Lee, the Johnson Institute's assistant director for research and development.

The event will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 4 p.m. in Cannon Chapel on the Emory Campus followed by a reception in Brooks Common. The event is free and open to the public.

"Our work is to provide a context to explain the ways in which the civil rights movement continues to have relevance,” says Rudolph Byrd, Goodrich C. White Professor of American Studies and the Johnson Institute’s founding director.

As a recent example, Byrd notes the inauguration of the nation’s first African American president as a key outcome of the modern civil rights movement. The first four resident scholars, who are already at work teaching and researching the origins, evolution, impact and legacy of the modern civil rights movement and its impact on other social movements, will be introduced as well.

Visit http://www.jamesweldonjohnson.emory.edu to learn more.

Emory Celebrates Tibet Week March 23-28

Emory University's annual Tibet Week is set for March 23-28.

Through films, lectures, art and other exhibits and events, Tibet Week provides opportunities for the Emory and Atlanta communities to experience first-hand the diverse dimensions of Tibetan Buddhist culture, and brings Tibetan monks to campus as ambassadors to share religious and artistic traditions.

In 2007, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was named Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory, the first university appointment accepted by the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate and leader of the Tibetan exile community. The appointment was an outgrowth of the Emory-Tibet Partnership, which was founded in 1998 to bring together the best of Western and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual traditions.

The partnership also has led to the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, a program to integrate a comprehensive science curriculum developed by Emory faculty into the traditional studies of Tibetan monks and nuns.

All Tibet Week events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The Carlos Museum is located on the Emory quadrangle at 571 Kilgo Circle, Emory. Visitor parking is available in the Fishburne parking deck, 1672 N. Decatur Road.

For more information and a full list of events, visit http://www.tibet.emory.edu.

Emory Professor Adds Up Numbers to Success

Emory University professor Ron Gould has developed a winning hand when it comes to teaching mathematics.

Gould's work has been honored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) with a 2008 Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching in the Southeast. He shared his knowledge in an invited lecture titled "Never Give a Non-Mathematician an Even Break" during the MAA's meeting for the Southeast, held in Nashville, Tenn., March 13-15. The MAA is a leading national professional association, and its Southeast section comprises Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

A Goodrich C. White Professor of Mathematics, Gould has taught in Emory's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science for 30 years. He started a freshman seminar a dozen years ago called "The Mathematics of Games, Sports and Gambling," which has proved extremely popular.

"The biggest complaint you hear from a student taking a math requirement is they don't see how they will ever use it," Gould says, explaining why he started the seminar. "I thought the students would be more eager to learn the theories if they were having fun."Revealing the number theories behind everything from card tricks to poker gives students instant insight into the value of math, Gould says. "I've had a lot of them tell me they are never going to Las Vegas, when they see how bad the odds are with various games." He is currently writing a textbook based on his seminar titled "Mathematics and Games, Sports and Gambling: The Games People Play."

"Ron is a terrific teacher and he deserves the recognition," says Dwight Duffus, another Goodrich C. White Professor of Mathematics, who nominated Gould for the MAA award. "His contributions to our department go across the board."

Gould has also mentored 25 masters students and 20 Ph.D. students. In addition to his teaching, Gould has authored 147 papers on graph theory and combinatorics – fundamental research areas in discrete mathematics.

Emory Epigeneticist Gives Talk Monday at 4 p.m.

The "nature versus nurture" debate has taken new twists and turns in recent years, as epigeneticists have started unraveling the mysteries of how genetic material is packaged. Emory University scientist and chair of biology Victor Corces, whose lab is working at the leading edge of epigenetics, will give a talk Monday, March 16, on "Beyond the Genome: DNA is Not Destiny."

The free, public lecture begins at 4 p.m. in the Jones Room of Woodruff Library. Visitor parking is available in the Fishburne deck, 1672 N. Decatur Road. For more information, call (404) 727-4632.

The event is part of the "Life of the Mind" lecture series, which showcases Emory's leading faculty members each month. Understanding epigenetics could lead to more effective treatments of everything from cancer to heart disease.

"It lies at the basis of human health," says Corces, who is also Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor.While geneticists study the content of DNA, epigeneticists look at the patterns formed by DNA threads, known as chromatin fibers.

Epigeneticists have discovered that these fibers are arranged in loops, similar to the outline of flower petals. The loops are formed by groups of proteins on the threads that can interact with one another and chemically bind together. Corces' lab is studying the proteins involved in the formation of these loops, and trying to determine the function of the loop structure.

The "Life of the Mind" lectures are framed in ways that non-specialists can understand, and include time for discussion. The series is sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

Emory to Host Child Prostitution Documentary

Emory University School of Law will host a screening of the film "The Sold Project: Thailand" at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the school's Tull Auditorium, 1300 Clifton Rd.

Filmed on location in Thailand, the documentary tells the story of children whose lives have been affected by prostitution. The screening is free and open to the public.

Rachel Sparks, founder of the SOLD Project and producer of the documentary, and Rachel Goble, executive director and associate producer, will speak at the screening. A question-and-answer session and panel discussion on human sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children in Atlanta and internationally will follow.

Panelists include:

• Stephanie Davis, policy adviser, women’s issues, Office of the Mayor, Atlanta
• Monique Hennink, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health
• Joseph Fonseca, coordinator, Crimes Against Children, Atlanta Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Kaffie McCullough, program manager, Community Collaboratives-Juvenile Justice Fund, A Future Not a Past
• Nathan Whiteman, coordinator, MATCH Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Kirsten Widner, post graduate fellow in law, Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic

The event is sponsored by the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory Law, the Emory Law Office of Student Affairs, the Feminism and Legal Theory Project, the Legal Association of Women Students (LAWS) and the Emory University Office of Multicultural Programs and Services.

New Grant to Foster Integrity in Scholarship, Research

Research ethics and integrity will be the focus of a new program in development at Emory Graduate School.

The program is one of five projects nationwide to receive a Project for Scholarly Integrity grant as part of a federal initiative to advance the scope and quality of graduate education in the ethical and responsible conduct of research.

Emory Graduate School:
http://www.graduateschool.emory.edu/

The grants were awarded by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), with funding from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity. Amid heightened concerns about academic research misconduct, CGS’s Project for Scholarly Integrity seeks to better inform students, researchers and faculty about the ethical responsibilities and complexities of research in the 21st century.

Council of Graduate Schools:
http://www.cgsnet.org/

U.S. Office of Research Integrity:
http://ori.dhhs.gov/

Council of Graduate Schools' Project for Scholarly Integrity:
http://www.scholarlyintegrity.org/home.aspx

One of the challenges in graduate education is to prepare students with the skills in ethical reasoning to deal with never-before-encountered situations says Lisa Tedesco, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for academic affairs at Emory University.

“We have responsibilities to educate our doctoral students in the most up-to-date ways about the complexities in their research environment,” says Tedesco. “Our program will seek to harness the critical thinking and analysis skills that they use every day in their research to engage more deeply into research ethics and the responsible conduct of research.”

Tedesco says critical reflection will be a major component of the program, including learning various “approaches to asking challenging questions and getting people comfortable with those difficult conversations.”

Since evidence suggests that many students fear judgment in addressing ethical problems in research, the Graduate School's process-oriented program seeks to build contexts in which ethical dilemmas can be candidly discussed.

The program will focus on a student’s development as a responsible researcher, supporting that development with three distinct goals:

• Program integration: Education in research ethics and integrity must be integrated into the curriculum of the student’s program.
• Skills of critical reflection: Students need time and space to practice thinking through complicated problems of professional integrity.
• Knowledge of research principles: Students should be acquainted with rules and principles established by the law, professional codes of ethics, and best practices in the discipline.

Albee, Rushdie to Give Reading of Early Beckett Letters

Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee and Emory University Distinguished Writer in Residence Salman Rushdie will join actors Brenda Bynum and Robert Shaw Smith for a rare evening of readings of early letters by Samuel Beckett at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 in Glenn Memorial Auditorium, 1652 N. Decatur Rd. Admission is free.

The event, titled "Fundamental Sounds: The Early Letters of Samuel Beckett," celebrates the recent publication of "The Letters of Samuel Beckett, 1929-1940" by Cambridge University Press. This is the first of a four-volume series of Samuel Beckett's letters, an international project affiliated with the Graduate School of Emory.

Playwright Tom Stoppard has said that "the prospect of reading Beckett's letters quickens the blood like none other's and one must hope to stay alive until the fourth volume is safely delivered."

While in Atlanta, Albee will participate in "A Creativity Conversation" with Rosemary Magee, vice president and secretary of the university, at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 at Emory's Center for Ethics, Room 102, 1531 Dickey Drive.

Related Beckett celebration events include:

• Beckett Film Marathon, 4-10 p.m., Thursday, March 19 in Room 110, White Hall, 301 Dowman Drive. Admission is free.

• Vocal sextet Lionheart with Vega String Quartet, featuring Phil Kline's composition, "John the Revelator," which sets passages from Samuel Beckett's novel, "The Unnamable," to music, 8 p.m., Friday, March 20, part of the Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, 1700 N. Decatur Rd. For information and tickets contact Arts at Emory Box Office: 404.727.5050 or boxoffice@emory.edu.

For more information on the Beckett project and events, contact Melissa Holm at (404) 727-2981, mholm@emory.edu.