November 27, 2000
Emory names new trustees, new chair
By Michael Terrazas mterraz@emory.edu
Emory filled four of its eight open trustee positions at the Board of
Trustees Nov. 9 meeting, and with the retirement of Brad Currey
after six years as chair, the board also named a new leader in Ben Johnson,
an Emory alumnus and managing partner in the Atlanta law firm of Alston
& Bird. At the heart of a great university is an exciting undergraduate
experience, said Johnson 65C. Thats the source
of my debt to Emory: an undergraduate experience that stimulated me in
the classroom and in a rich array of other activitiesmusical concerts,
political debates, religious programs, residential life, writing for The
Wheel, participating in debate tournaments with the Barkley Forum,
interaction with faculty outside the classroomthat were just as
important as what was experienced in the classroom. Johnson, along with John Morgan 67Ox, 69B, was moved from
his previous status as an alumni trustee to a term position. With four
new trusteesKenneth Carder, Doug Daft, Rhoda Peters and Michael
Watsonbrought in, the moves now leave four vacancies (two alumni
and two term positions) on the 39-seat board. University Secretary Gary Hauk said Johnson has already appointed a subcommittee
to examine the United Methodist Southeastern Jurisdictional Conferences
request that 60 percent of the board members be United Methodist representatives.
Two of the new trustees, Carder and Watson, are Methodist bishops, and
Hauk said Peters is a prominent Methodist lay leader in Kentucky. Hauk said Johnson brings a keen understanding of academic affairs to
his chairship, having already chaired the boards committee on academic
affairs during his time as alumni trustee. His instincts about the life and function of the University are
very good, Hauk said. He gave some remarks at the [Nov. 8}
trustee dinner and talked about the university as a place of unruly
paradox; it is a bastion of tradition, and yet its on the
cutting edge of new knowledge and challenges tradition in many ways. President Bill Chace expressed a similar satisfaction with the new BOT
chair. I envision, with pleasure, a close and very productive working
relationship with Mr. Johnson, Chace said. I admire his quiet
and patient rationality, his love of the academy, his wit and his superb
diplomatic skills with one and all. For his part, Johnson recognizes the tasks at hand. Emory has made
as much progress in elevating its reputation among the worlds elite
research universities as any other institution over the last decade,
Johnson said. Understanding the strength of our competitors requires
us to work even harder to strengthen our resources and work even smarter
to maximize the impact of those resources. As he retires at age 70 (click
here for related story), Currey said the board is left
in very good hands. Ben is a wonderful man, Currey said of
his successor. His father [Ben Johnson Jr.] was dean of the law
school; he literally grew up running around this campus. He loves Emory.
Im awfully pleased to be succeeded by an alumnus, and Ive
very optimistic about the future of Emory and its board and everybody
connected with it. Kenneth Carder,
60, is resident bishop for the United Methodist Church in the Jackson,
Miss., area. He received his bachelors in sociology and English
from East Tennessee State University in 1962; his masters of divinity
from Wesley Theological Seminary in 1965; and his doctor of ministry degree
from Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1980. He also studied at the Candler
School of Theology and received clinical pastoral training at Sibley Memorial
Hospital in Washington in 1964. Doug Daft, 57,
was elected CEO of The Coca-Cola Company in February. He is the 11th chairman
of Coca-Colas board of directors. Daft joined the company in 1969
as planning officer in its Sydney, Australia, office. He spent time working
in Coca-Colas Far East divisions, working his way up to president
of the Middle and Far East Group in 1995. In December 1999 he was named
president and chief operating officer. Daft received a bachelors
in mathematics from the University of New England and a post-graduate
degree in business administration from the University of Rhoda Peters,
67, is the Kentucky Conference provost for the United Methodist Church
and editor-in-chief of the conference newspaper, NetNews. Previously she
served as discipleship formation director, director of the Louisville
(Ky.) Conference Council on Ministries and as director of programs at
St. Paul UMC in Louisville. Peters received her bachelors in English
from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1955 and her masters in speech
and theater from Indiana University in 1956. Michael Watson 74T, 51, was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference earlier this year and was assigned to the South Georgia area. He lives in Macon. Previously he served as pastor of the Dauphin Way UMC in Mobile, Ala., and as founding pastor of Covenant UMC from 197990 in his hometown of Dothan, Ala. He received a bachelors degree in finance and real estate from the University of Alabama in 1971, his masters of divinity from Emorys Candler School of Theology in 1974 and his doctorate of ministry from Vanderbilt in 1975. |