Gene M. Tucker, professor of Old Testament at the Candler School of Theology, has been elected president of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. A member of the Candler faculty for twenty-four years, Tucker has previously served as chair of a number of SBL task forces and was a member of the Old Testament Committee for the Revised Standard Version Bible. He also is the author, co-author, or editor of eighteen books and the author of more than sixty journal articles and reference works.
Professor of Medicine H. Kenneth Walker has been named chairman of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine, a group that serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the National Library of Medicine. A member of the faculty of the Department of Medicine since 1970, Walker is a 1956 graduate of Oxford College, a 1958 graduate of Emory College, and a 1963 graduate of the Emory School of Medicine.
The American Academy of Religion has selected as its president Robert Detweiler, professor of liberal arts and comparative literature at the Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts (ILA). The 7,500-member organization, which is based at Emory, is committed to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions. Detweiler served as director of the ILA from 1974 to 1982 and was director of the Institute's graduate studies program from 1987 to 1989. He is the author or editor of nine books.
Last fall Professor of Medicine Robert C. Schlant received the James B. Herrick Award from the American Heart Association "in recognition of major contributions to research, teaching, and patient care." Schlant is former director of the Division of Cardiology at the School of Medicine. He previously served on the board of directors of the Georgia Heart Association, was Georgia Governor for the American College of Cardiology, and president of the Association of University Cardiologists. In addition, he is co-editor of the cardiology text The Heart.
Belle Miller McMaster, former acting director of the Candler School of Theology's Program for Women in Theology and Ministry, has been named director of advanced studies at Candler. In her new role, McMaster will oversee the doctor of ministry and doctor of theology in pastoral counseling degree programs. Beginning this fall, she also will be responsible for the master of theology program.
Patricia Battin, former president of the Commission on Preservation and Access in Washington, D.C., has been appointed director of planning for Emory's virtual library project. Battin, a nationally respected leader in the library profession, was one of the experts contacted by the University in 1993, when the Luce Foundation awarded Emory a grant to develop a model of an online, electronic, virtual library. While at Columbia University she was one of the first librarians in the country to expand the role of libraries in the new field of electronic technologies. She received an honorary degree from Emory in 1993.
Professor of English Georgia B. Christopher died of cancer on December 16, 1994. Christopher, who had been a member of the faculty since 1981, was noted for her scholarship and teaching of Milton and Renaissance English literature. In addition to serving on a number of search committees for faculty and deans, Christopher also served on Woodruff Scholar search committees and was a member of the University Faculty Council, the Emory College Executive Committee, and the Emory College Budget Committee, which she chaired.
--Compiled by Andrew W.M. Beierle