Remembering Dr. James T. Laney, President Emeritus
As we mourn the passing of Dr. James T. Laney, one word continues to appear in descriptions of his life: transformative. The word can feel abstract without an understanding of who Dr. Laney was and how he led change throughout the University.
His impact at Emory began at Candler School of Theology where he served as dean from 1969 to 1977. During a consequential period for the school and the nation, he recruited distinguished faculty and introduced new approaches to theological education. Candler continues to carry this work forward through the James T. and Berta R. Laney Program in Moral Leadership, which prepares leaders to approach public life with ethical clarity and a commitment to the common good.
When Dr. Laney became president of Emory in 1977, his understanding that a comprehensive research institution depends on the strength of its graduate education helped usher in a period of transformation across the University. Through his work with faculty and administrators, he expanded academic departments, recruited accomplished scholars, and secured the resources needed for graduate programs to flourish. His leadership placed Emory on the path toward membership in the Association of American Universities and established graduate education as central to its future.
The decision to name the graduate school in his honor in 2009 recognized the substance of his work and the depth of his belief in graduate education. Thanks to his foundational vision, the consequential leadership of Dean Emeritus Lisa Tedesco, and sustained support from leaders across the University, the Laney Graduate School is now highly regarded for recruiting talented students who conduct ground-breaking scholarship with outstanding faculty across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Several funds established in his name continue his commitment to students. The James T. Laney Fellowship Endowments support LGS’s ability to recruit outstanding doctoral students in the arts and sciences and in the biological biomedical and health sciences. In addition, his service as U.S. ambassador in Seoul lives on through the James T. Laney Endowed Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2012 by his longtime friend Bradley Currey, to support Emory College students who are interested in Korean and East Asian cultures. The fund also helps support students who are Korean or Korean American.
Academic leaders are entrusted with stewarding the missions of their institutions. While much of that responsibility involves close attention to faculty, staff, and student recruitment and retention, academic programs, student support, budgets, and policies, leadership also requires the ability to see beyond the immediate demands of shepherding an academic mission. Through my personal interactions with him and his writings, Jim Laney helped me as an academic leader, to develop a deeper understanding of both the challenges and opportunities of higher education and how to respond with clarity and moral purpose.
Dr. Laney’s transformative leadership will continue to live on in the institutions he strengthened, and the generations of academic leaders who continue to learn from his example. His legacy offers an enduring model for leading with conviction and purpose in service to humanity.
The Laney community extends its heartfelt condolences to his family and all who knew him.