January
Chace bookends presidency with Habitat houses
Just as he did during his inauguration in 1995, President Bill Chace asks the community to pitch in and help provide a public-service bookend to his nine-year term in office by volunteering for a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity.

King Week keynote calls for youthful activism
King Week keynote speaker Tavis Smiley uses his 80-minute address to a full house in Glenn Auditorium, Jan. 21, as a call to activism for younger generations of African Americans. It won’t be easy, he admits, since the post-civil rights generations of black Americans are what he describes as “children of privilege.”

Presidential search firms, meetings announced
Emory Board of Trustees chair Ben Johnson, chair of the Presidential Search Committee, announces the group has begun its work. The committee identifies two firms hired to assist in the search. He also announces a schedule for several appearances he and other search committee members will make to speak with various University governance groups and constituent bodies.

Redford stars in second annual Cole Forum
After enlisting former New York governor Mario Cuomo to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Kenneth Cole Leadership Forum in 2002, the 2003 event features Academy Award-winning actor and director Robert Redford, who kicks off the forum on Jan. 29, in Glenn Auditorium.

Varied voices define Charter Day 2003
Jan. 25 marks the 88th “birthday” of Emory’s Atlanta campus, and two days later the University throws its biggest party yet as students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni gather for the annual Charter Day celebration. Held in Cox Hall Jan. 27, Charter Day 2003 draws a crowd of more than 400.

The Emory Clinic celebrates 50 years of care
From modest beginnings, the Emory Clinic, which celebrates a half-century of serving Georgia’s medical needs in 2003, has become the largest and most comprehensive group medical practice in the state. With 671 Emory faculty physicians and 2,029 staff members, the clinic now hosts nearly 700,000 patient visits each year.

Human trials under way for AIDS vaccine
A vaccine aimed against AIDS and developed partly at Yerkes and the Emory Vaccine Center begins its Phase I clinical trial. A total of 30 human volunteers are enrolled at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Washington and the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Emory eighth in Peace Corps rankings
Emory ranks eighth in the nation among midsized schools that produced the most Peace Corps volunteers in 2002, Peace Corps director Gaddi Vasquez announces Jan. 27 in an annual listing of the top volunteer-producing schools.

February
Schwartz Center makes grand debut
Theater, dance and music of all strains merge as one voice on the evening of Feb. 1 to celebrate the dedication of the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. A crowd of more than 500 fills the newly installed seats in Emerson Concert Hall to enjoy “Inter-Play,” the evening’s performance that incorporates the theater, dance and music departments.

Research@Emory draft kick starts conversation
The Commission on Research completes its draft report surveying the breadth, depth and nature of Emory’s research culture, and prepares to listen to the community reactions before producing a final report this fall. The draft report serves as a touchstone for a comprehensive campus discussion over the next several months.

Chace urges civility on campus
As the United States continues to threaten Iraq with forcible disarmament and concerns mount over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, Chace urges the Emory campus to maintain civility and mutual respect. In a Feb. 1 open letter to the community, Chace makes the plea while endorsing a recent statement by the Association of American Universities about free speech on college campuses. Faculty Council members Bruce Knauft and Jim Grimsley meet with student leaders to facilitate a public event on the Quadrangle.

Smallpox policy adopted
The President’s Cabinet approves a new policy addressing smallpox vaccinations of employees that is intended to protect both the general Emory population and visiting health care patients. All employees who receive mandatory smallpox vaccinations—either related to research work involving smallpox and/or related vaccines, or through the military—will be precluded from working with immuno-compromised patients during the roughly three weeks it takes for a smallpox vaccination to heal.

Heaney headlines honorary degree list
Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney heads a group of four honorary degree recipients for 2003 that also includes physician and scientist Anthony Fauci, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Levering Lewis and Methodist composer (and Emory faculty member) Carlton “Sam” Young.

Early SACS report is good news
Emory receives a favorable preliminary report from the visiting team of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) during its site visit to campus, Feb. 2–5, as part of the University’s reaccreditation process.

Unsung Heroines receive their due
A full house fetes the winners of the sixth annual Women’s Center’s Unsung Heroines Awards on Feb. 24 at a dinner held in the Miller-Ward Alumni House. This year’s honorees include: Susan Borja (undergraduate), Andy Lowry (graduate student), Dana Greene (administrator); Virginia Plummer (staff), Patti Owen-Smith (faculty) and Karen Worthington (alumna). Additionally, Jennifer Mathis of Facilities Management receives a special commendation for bravery and community service from the Emory Police Department (EPD) and a gift of appreciation from the Women’s Center.

March
Woodruff to install compact shelving
Woodruff Library staff gear up for a major renovation project to install compact, movable shelving on the fourth floor of the stack tower. When it is finished, the work will increase shelving capacity on the fourth floor by nearly 65 percent; during the project, all fourth-floor holdings are moved to a remote storage location.

Mandl named EVP for finance & administration
Emory names Michael Mandl, vice president for financial services at Duke University, as its new executive vice president for finance and administration, effective July 1. Chace makes the appointment following a search that began when John Temple, after 20 years of service, announced in fall 2002 his intention to step down as Emory’s chief financial officer.

Three presidents, three states of the University
Three Emory presidents take the podium March 18 to deliver the fifth annual State of the University Address. The event features both the current Student Government Association president (recently elected junior Euler Bropleh) and former SGA president (senior Chris Richardson) joining Chace—delivering his last such address—in presenting their views of the state of the University.

‘Many Voices’ speak on war with Iraq
More than 1,500 faculty, staff and students attend “The Classroom on the Quad: U.S. & Iraq: Many Voices,” held the afternoon of March 26 on the Quadrangle. Some two dozen faculty, staff and students take the stage in front of Pitts Theology Library for five minutes each, trading viewpoints on the war in Iraq—its justification, conduct, collateral effects and consequences. The event is cosponsored by the University Senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom and Student Concerns and Student/Campus Life Staff/Faculty Planning Committee.

No smoking at building entrances
Acting on recommendations from a University Senate task force, and in accordance with a recent DeKalb County ordinance, the President’s Cabinet votes March 10 to ban smoking from within 20 feet of all building entrances (including those to Emory Hospital, the Emory Clinic and residence halls) on both the Atlanta and Oxford campuses, and to Emory-owned buildings at Grady Hospital.

Conference examines marriage, sex and the family
Rebecca Chopp, former Emory provost and current president of Colgate University, appears in the closing panel discussion for “Sex, Marriage and the Family and Religions of the Book: Modern Problems, Enduring Solutions,” a conference sponsored by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion (CISR).

April
U.S. News releases grad rankings
Emory’s medical, law, business, public health and nursing schools are among the Top 30 schools in America, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2004 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” guide. The rankings are reported in the newsstand book and April 7 issue of U.S. News.

ILA takes time to celebrate 50 years
The humble beginnings of the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts and the half-century of growth since its inception are commemorated April 11–13 with a celebration featuring a variety of panel and roundtable discussions, receptions and get-togethers.

Wegner named campus environmental officer
John Wegner, senior lecturer in environmental studies, is appointed by Chace as Emory’s first campus environmental officer, effective May 1. “In keeping with the more general Emory model of how we do business, this will be a cooperative effort,” says Wegner, who says his role will be to coordinate and facilitate the University’s “green” efforts rather than supervise them.

‘Royal resident’ ready for prime time
Visitors to the Carlos Museum get the opportunity to decide whether a famed Egyptian pharaoh is holding court in Atlanta when “Ramesses I: The Search for the Lost Pharaoh” opens on April 26. The mummy believed to be that of Ramesses I, founder of one of Egypt’s most powerful dynasties and ruler of Egypt from 1292–90 B.C., is the centerpiece of the exhibition, on view through Sept. 14, that will draw record-breaking crowds to the Carlos.

Gravity Monument returns to campus
The Gravity Monument, one of Emory’s more eclectic pieces of campus lore, returns to a new home in the courtyard adjacent to the Math & Science Center. The piece had been in storage since 1999, when it was removed from its previous home just off the Quadrangle to make room for the Isamu Noguchi outdoor sculpture “Beginnings,” loaned to Emory from 1999–2001.

May
Emory sends off 158th graduating class
On a brand-new stage under a new parachute-shaped canopy, Emory’s Class of 2003 takes its first collective step into the world as the University celebrates its 158th Commencement, May 12. The Class of 2003 numbers more than 3,300 students, 36 of whom received double degrees. Emory handed out 1,780 undergraduate degrees, 1,096 graduate degrees and 462 professional degrees.

Bobby Paul named Emory College dean
Following a nine-month national search, the University announces on May 20 that Bobby Paul can remove the “interim” from his title as dean of the college, and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies can look forward to moving into his new office in the renovated Candler Library later in the summer.

Eagles sweep Div. III tennis team titles
Both the men’s and women’s Emory tennis teams win the NCAA Div. III national titles at their respective championships. The women’s team was particularly proficient, sweeping the doubles and singles championships.

June
Oxford named Carnegie cluster leader
Oxford College is designated as a national cluster leader for the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Campus Program, an initiative designed to improve teaching and learning in higher education.

$2.2M awarded for Emory Village redesign
The Atlanta Regional Commission designates the renovation of Emory Village as eligible for funds under its Livable Centers Initiative, making available some $2.2 million over two years to study, design and implement improvements to public spaces at the University’s front gate.

Carter celebrates walk connecting him to King
An impressive array of dignitaries led by former President Carter celebrates the June 27 unveiling of the Carter-King Peace Walk at Freedom Park, a 1.5-mile stretch of the Freedom Park Trail that connects the Carter Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

July
Jim Wagner named Emory president
Jim Wagner, provost of Case Western Reserve University, is named Emory’s 19th president after a special meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees held July 30. Wagner, whose appointment concludes an eight-month, national search following Chace’s retirement announcement, will arrive in time for the beginning of Emory’s fall semester. “Emory has the opportunity to be known and to be recognized for being inquiry-based and values-guided—an educational institution of the highest order,” Wagner says.

Search ends for new Halle director
Holli Semetko, professor and chair of audience and public opinion research on the faculty of social and behavioral sciences at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in the Netherlands, is named Emory’s new vice provost and director of the Halle Institute for Global Learning.

Eagles second in Directors’ Cup rankings
Emory’s athletics program places second in the nation for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics’ Directors’ Cup in Div. III, awarded to the best program in each of the NCAA divisions. This marks the fifth time in eight years that the Eagles have finished in the Top 10.

August
Emory Hospital ranked in seven areas by U.S. News
U.S. News & World Report names Emory Hospital one of America’s Best Hospitals in seven medical specialties, including cardiology, where Emory is again included in the Top 10 for the 13th time since the magazine’s rankings began in 1990.

Hunter to leave provost’s office Sept. 1
Interim Provost Woody Hunter announces he will step down effective Sept. 1, co-terminus with the presidency of Bill Chace. Hunter has served as interim provost since July 1, 2001, following the departure of former provost Rebecca Chopp.

U.S. News again ranks Emory 18th
Emory maintains its 18th place ranking for the fifth year in a row among 248 national universities in this year’s U.S. News & World Report annual college quality rankings. The Goizueta Business School is 14th in the rankings of undergraduate business programs.

Computer worm eats its way into campus
Emory recovers from the “W32.Blaster” worm that hit not only the University but much of the computing community beginning Aug. 11. The worm—different from a computer virus in that it works its way into a system through any open portal, such as a network connection, and thus does not require opening an infected file—sends Information Technology Division staff members and local computer support personnel scurrying about campus to repair damaged computers and apply “patches” to those not yet affected.

Mars attacks! Or, rather, approaches, Aug. 27
On Wednesday, Aug. 27—at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, to be exact—the centers of Earth and Mars are a mere 34,646,418 miles apart, the closest the two planets have been in more than 59,000 years. The physics department holds a special event in the Math & Science Center planetarium, wiring a video feed from its 24-inch rooftop Cassegrain telescope to the planetarium, enabling live pictures of the Red Planet to be displayed on the planetarium dome.

Wagner headlines first convocation
(Almost) President Wagner, presiding over his first Freshman Convocation at the invitation of (almost) former President Chace, speaks at the conclusion of the Aug. 27 event. “I have no official stature nor right to welcome you here, but my thanks to Bill Chace for allowing me to do that,” says Wagner, due to take office Sept. 1.

Planting, reception wish Chaces well
In an understated ceremony with a flavor more akin to a county fair than a presidential sendoff, the Emory community bids adieu to the Chace presidency Aug. 29 with the most fitting of tributes: a tree planting. A crowd of about 100 gathers on the Quadrangle in front of Bowden Hall, where the previous spring a venerable tree was struck by lightning and then removed. In its place now stands what could become known as “The Chace Oak,” a young nuttall oak planted in honor of Bill and JoAn Chace.

September
Candler Library renovation mixes best of old and new
Built originally in 1926 as the geographic and figurative center of academic life on campus, the newly renovated Candler Library allows the Emory community to experience innovation by looking back. A campus landmark, the building’s two-story reading room that was removed in the mid-1950s, returns with all of its past glory intact. The renovation also provides new office and classroom space for two schools and nearly a half-dozen programs.

Homecoming debuts Sept. 18–21
Emory’s newly christened Homecoming Weekend is held Sept. 18–21. The revamped event replaces the old Alumni Week-end, which itself has been reborn as “Emory Weekend,” to be held every year on the weekend preceding Commencement, beginning with May 6–10, 2004.

Wagner names search committee for provost
Wagner announces the membership of a search advisory committee charged with conducting a national search to locate candidates for a new provost; Hunter announced in August that he would begin a sabbatical on Sept. 1, and the provostship has not had a permanent occupant since Rebecca Chopp left Emory in the spring of 2001.

Heaney honors Chace, Emory with papers
Seamus Heaney, the Nobel Prize-winning poet who served as keynote speaker at the 2003 Commencement, uses his Sept. 23 reading—during which he honors Chace’s achievements—as the platform to announce that he will deposit at Emory a major portion of his archive of personal and literary papers. “I am pleased to say that these letters are now here and that even as President Chace is departing, as long as my papers stay here, they will be a memorial to the work he has done to extend the University’s resources and strengthen its purpose,” Heaney says.

Questions of conflict take center stage at Carter Town Hall
Prospects for peace in the Middle East, the meaning of the word “war” and the repercussions of the USA PATRIOT Act were just a few of the subjects addressed by former President Carter at his 22nd annual Town Hall meeting with the Emory community, Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the P.E. Center.

Winship Cancer Institute opens to great fanfare
About 180 people gather for the Sept. 24 dedication of the $75 million Winship Cancer Institute. “I am proud to be here on a day that brings basic scientific research and clinical cancer care together under one roof,” said Gov. Sonny Perdue, who earlier in the month month helped announce a $1.9 million planning grant to WCI from the National Cancer Institute.

Emory to test its vision
Wagner proposes a “vision statement” to the University for consideration and comment. Wagner’s hope is that five key University constituencies—faculty, students, staff, alumni and trustees—will ponder this working vision and send feedback. In November, Wagner will meet with the President’s Cabinet and the Council of Deans to weigh community reactions and further revise the statement.

October
Annual Fund sets record
Emory’s Annual Fund announces that it set a record in fiscal year 2003 by raising $3,575,718 in unrestricted funds for the University, breaking the previous high set in 2002 by nearly $115,000.

Hawass brings star power to Glenn
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, visits Emory to commemorate the return of Ramesses I to the pharaoh’s homeland. Hawass speaks and signs books for an audience of several hundred in Glenn Auditorium, Oct. 22.

Grant program to SIRE student research
A new grant program developed in Emory College, Scholarly Inquiry and Research at Emory (SIRE), will provide up to $2,500 of independent research support to individual undergraduates beginning in the spring. The pilot project represents the newest opportunity for undergraduates to expand the scope of their education.

Faculty appointed to BOT committees
The Board of Trustees (BOT) agrees to appoint University faculty members for three-year terms as nonvoting counselors to the board’s eight major committees. The president and president-elect of University Senate already were ex officio members of the board’s Academic Affairs committee, but the change adds faculty voices to seven more BOT groups.

Ceremony marks Ramesses’ return home
Almost 150 years after it was removed from Egypt by a collector, the mummy believed to be Ramesses I returns to its homeland following a gifting ceremony at Hartsfield International Airport, Oct. 24. The Delta flight carrying the mummy departs at 5 p.m.—first for Paris, then on to Cairo, where Ramesses I and his traveling companions, which include media and representatives from Emory and the Egyptian government, are met with great fanfare.

November
University issues statement regarding racial language incident
Emory issues a statement regarding anthropology Professor Carol Worthman’s use of an inappropriate racial expression during a department panel discussion on Sept. 15. A complaint was filed with the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs (EOP), which conducted an investigation. Worthman said she made the statement within what she considered an academic context, that she deeply regretted having said it, and that she apologized both verbally and in writing. EOP determined that the comment was inappropriate but was an isolated incident that did not indicate a pattern of workplace hostility, and recommended a series of sanctions.

Wagner, Mandl meet with community
Wagner and Mandl hold a series of “open house” meetings on the main campus and at Crawford Long and Grady hospitals, Oxford and the Carter Center. The events give two of Emory’s newest arrivals the chance to mingle with employees from all corners of the University.

Wagner town hall brings record crowd
A record turnout of more than 150 people, several of them spilling outside the doors of Winship Ballroom—came to see Wagner make his first appearance at the Employee Council’s annual Town Hall meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 11. “We have to work toward a day when the jobs at Emory are the plum jobs to have in Atlanta,” Wagner says.

Diversity town hall searches for community
A crowd of roughly 400 gathers in Glenn Auditorium Nov. 24 to hear Wagner address the concept of community at Emory in light of recent culturally insensitive incidents on campus. The town hall meeting is an opportunity for open communication among Emory students, faculty and staff, and it is co-sponsored by the president’s office and the Concerned Students Coalition.

Emory Vision Statement gets clear prescription
Wagner releases the finalized version of the University Vision Statement, the first step in a strategic planning process that will culminate a comprehensive campaign that could bring billions of dollars to the University. “I was extremely pleased and delighted by that process,” Wagner said. “People were serious about this opportunity for open comment, and they also took the challenge to go beyond a critique and to be creative.”

December
Robinson delivers human rights challenge
Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations (UN) high commissioner for human rights delivers the eighth annual Rosalynn Carter Distinguished Lecture in Public Policy, Dec. 3 in Glenn Auditorium. Robinson’s lecture, “Getting Back on Track With the Global Human Rights Agenda,” focuses on the need to implement the human rights goals set by the UN in 2000, and the
need for women to play a significant role in leading that movement.