University president announces retirement

Come the end of August, James W. Wagner PhD will retire as president of Emory. A national search is under way to fill his post.

During his 12-year presidency, Wagner (shown above) set in motion a campus-wide initiative to develop a clear vision statement, resulting in a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen the university at all levels, and led a $1.7 billion fund-raising campaign, the largest in Georgia history. He also worked to enhance the student experience, grow research, and strengthen partnerships with academia, government, and industry.

Wagner often spoke of Emory's place in the world—one that seeks positive change. An example of this tenet played out publicly in 2014 when clinicians at Emory University Hospital successfully treated four patients with the highly contagious Ebola virus.

In his message in the Winter 2015 issue of Emory Magazine, Wagner stated that he and other university leaders played no immediate role in the decision to accept the first two Ebola patients. The decision by Emory doctors was a matter of instinct. 

"In the end," Wagner wrote, "our physicians, nurses, staff, and communications professionals not only earned the gratitude of patients and their families. They also demonstrated the power for positive transformation that is inherent in research universities."