This is a list of influential and newsworthy people affiliated with Emory University, a private university in Atlanta. The list includes professors, staff, graduates, and former students belonging to one of Emory's two undergraduate or seven graduate schools.
Academia
Presidents of academic institutions
- Philip A. Amerson (PhD 1976) – President of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary[5]
- Ivan Loveridge Bennett (BA 1943, MD 1946) – physician, dean of the NYU School of Medicine, president of New York University 1980–1981
- Robert G. Bottoms (BD 1969) – former president of DePauw University
- Marion L. Brittain (BA 1886) – academic administrator, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology 1922–1944
- Charles Paul Conn (MA, PhD) – president of Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee
- James H. Daughdrill Jr. (BA 1956) – 18th president of Rhodes College
- Nivia Fernández Hernández (MMSc 1979) – interim president of the University of Puerto Rico
- Arthur Hollis Edens (BA 1928, MA 1938) – 3rd president of Duke University
- Andrew D. Holt (BA 1927) – 16th president of the University of Tennessee
- Isaac Stiles Hopkins (Bachelor's degree 1859) – first president of the Georgia Institute of Technology
- Robert Stewart Hyer (BA 1881, MA 1882) – president of Southwestern University, first president of Southern Methodist University, educator and researcher in Texas, noted for experimenting with early x-ray and telegraphy equipment
- James F. Jones (master's degree[6]) – 21st president of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
- Howard Lamar (BA 1945) – former dean of Yale College and former president of Yale University[7]
- Michael Lomax (PhD 1984[8]) – President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Negro College Fund, former president of Dillard University (1997–2004)[9]
- Ward B. Pafford (BA) – 3rd president of the University of West Georgia
- Luis M. Proenza – 15th president of the University of Akron
- Henry King Stanford (BA) – 19th president of the University of Georgia and 3rd president of the University of Miami
- G. Gabrielle Starr (BA 1993, MA 1993) – president of Pomona College in Claremont, California[10]
- Robert M. Strozier – former president of Florida State University
- Frederick Palmer Whiddon (PhD 1963) – founder and first president of the University of South Alabama
Professors
- Amalia Amaki (MA, PhD) – artist, art historian[11]
- Randall Auxier (PhD 1992) – professor of philosophy at Southern Illinois University
- Enoch Marvin Banks (BA 1897, MA 1900) – academic historian at the University of Florida
- Jim Chen (BA, MA) – Dean of the University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law[12]
- Don H. Compier (PhD 1992) – founding dean of the Community of Christ Seminary, Graceland University
- Cherry Logan Emerson (BA 1938, MA 1939) – Cherry L. Emerson Center for Scientific Computation founder and distinguished faculty member
- Etta Falconer (PhD 1969) – educator and mathematician, one of the first female African-American PhDs in math
- Elizabeth Price Foley (BA 1987) – legal theorist
- Ted Gayer (BA 1992[13]) – economist, associate professor at Georgetown Public Policy Institute[13]
- Margot Gayle (MS Bacteriology[14]) – former American historic preservationist and author
- Lassie Goodbread-Black (MA 1944[15]) – farmer and educator; in 1925, became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida
- Louis R. Harlan (BA 1943[1]) – historian and academic, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984[2]
- Valerie Horsley (PhD 2003) – biologist
- William Kelso (PhD 1971[16]) – archaeologist, director of research and interpretation for the Preservation Virginia (APVA) Jamestown Rediscovery project
- Ben Konop (BA[17]) – Lucas County Commissioner, an attorney and law professor at Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law
- Amy Malek (BA 2003) – professor, scholar, and sociocultural anthropologist; department chair and director at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
- Magali Cornier Michael (MA, PhD[18]) – feminist literary scholar, Professor of English, and current chair of the English Department at Duquesne University
- Jacob Mincer (BA 1950) – "father" of labor economics and Chicago School member
- Howard W. Odum (BA 1904[19]) – sociologist
- Susan Pharr (BA 1966) – academic in the field of political science, Japanologist
- Elaine Reese (PhD) – academic psychologist, focuses on early language acquisition[20]
- James I. Robertson, Jr. (MA 1956, PhD 1959[21]) – scholar on the American Civil War, professor at Virginia Tech
- Jeffrey Burton Russell (PhD[22]) – American historian and religious studies scholar
- Barton C. Shaw (PhD[23]) – historian, professor at Cedar Crest College
- Christopher Snyder (MA, PhD[24]) – professor of European history and director of the National Celtic Heritage Center at Marymount University
- India Thusi – law professor at Indiana University Bloomington
- Melissa Wade (BA 1972, MA 1976, M.T.S. 1996, Th. M 2000[25]) – debate coach and leader in the Urban debate league movement, director of Forensics and the Barkley Forum at Emory University
Business
- Nelson Adams (internship 1979 and residency 1982) – physician, President of the National Medical Association, founder and president of Access Health Solutions, LLC
- Ely Callaway (BA 1940[26]) – founder of Callaway Golf
- Mitch Caplan (MBA, JD) – former CEO of E-Trade
- John W. Chidsey (MBA, JD) – former CEO of Burger King
- Kenneth Cole (BA 1976)[27]) – clothing designer
- Harlan Crow – real estate developer from Dallas, Texas[28]
- Aaron Davidson – Chairman of the North American Soccer League and President of Traffic Sports USA[29]
- Nir Eyal (BA 2001) – writer, educator, and entrepreneur in the field of consumer psychology and behavioral design
- Jason Goldberg (dropped out) – internet entrepreneur
- Michael Golden (MBA) – Vice Chairman of The New York Times Company[30]
- Michael Golden (MBA) – President and CEO of Smith & Wesson[30]
- C. Robert Henrikson (JD 1972) – Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Metlife, Inc.
- Alan J. Lacy (MBA 1977) – former chairman and CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company
- Jim Lanzone (JD and MBA[31]) – former CEO of Ask.com, former CEO of Clicker, current CEO of CBS Interactive
- Raymond W. McDaniel Jr. (JD) – chairman and chief executive officer of Moody's Corporation
- Richard H. Neiman (JD[32]) – 43rd Superintendent of Banks for the State of New York
- Hank J. Ratner (born 1959), American media, sports, entertainment and telecommunications executive
- Djuan Rivers (BA 1987) – Vice President of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World
- John B. Sams (Advanced Management Program 1988) – Vice President of the Air Force Systems business unit, part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
- Rankin M. Smith Sr. (attended one year, then transferred to the University of Georgia[33]) – businessman and philanthropist
- A.J. Steigman (BBA 2008[34]) – founder and CEO of Steignet
- Ben J. Tarbutton (BA 1905[35]) – businessman and politician
- Emory Williams, Sr. (BA 1932[36]) – retired corporate executive of Sears Roebuck and civic leader in Chicago, namesake of the Emory Williams Teaching Award at Emory University
- Robert W. Woodruff (one term as an undergraduate[37]) – former president of the Coca-Cola Company, gave over $230 million to Emory University,[37] namesake of its Woodruff Health Sciences Center and the Robert W. Woodruff Library
Arts and letters
Film and television
- Orny Adams (BA 1993) – actor, comedian (Teen Wolf)[38]
- Erica Ash (BA) – actress and comedian[39]
- Fala Chen (BBA 2005) – Chinese-American actress, two-time TVB Anniversary Award for Best Supporting Actress winner, model, and pageant winner
- James W. Flannery – emeritus professor and producer of the Emmy winning A Southern Celtic Christmas Concert on PBS
- Antonia Gentry (BA 2019) – actress, star of the Netflix Original Ginny and Georgia
- Joel Godard (BA 1960) – television announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien
- Ernie Harwell (BA 1940[40]) – baseball broadcaster
- Glenda Hatchett (JD 1977) – star of the television show Judge Hatchett
- Dr. Will Kirby (BS 1995[41]) – celebrity dermatologist, authority on laser tattoo removal, winner of Big Brother and star of Dr. 90210
- Justin Lazard (attended[42]) – actor, producer, director, and model
- Natalia Livingston (BA 1998[43]) – Emmy Award-winning actress on the soap opera General Hospital
- George Page (BA 1957) – television host, known for his work on the PBS series Nature
- Adam Richman (BA 1996[44]) – actor, host of Man v. Food on the Travel Channel
- Jim Sarbh (BA 2009) – actor in the Hindi film industry
- Stephen Schneider (BA) – actor (Broad City)
Journalism and non-fiction writing
Politics
- Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.
U.S. Cabinet Secretaries and other prominent federal government officials
U.S. Governors and Lieutenant Governors
Legislators
State legislators and city officials
Judges
U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Religion
Bishops
- Frank Kellogg Allan (BA 1956) – eighth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
- Arthur James Armstrong (BA ) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Sante Uberto Barbieri (MA ) – Bishop of the Methodist Church in Latin America
- Robert McGrady Blackburn (BD 1943) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- John Warren Branscomb – Bishop of the Methodist Church
- Warren Akin Candler (BA 1877) – Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, tenth President of Emory University
- James Edward Dickey (BA 1891) – Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
- James L. Duncan (BA 1935)) – Bishop of the Episcopal Church
- Benjamin Fischer (BA, MA 2001) – Bishop of the Anglican Church in North America[78]
- Larry M. Goodpaster (M.Div. 1973, D.Min. 1982) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Paul Hardin, Jr. (M.Div. 1927) – Bishop in the Methodist Church
- Nolan Bailey Harmon – Bishop of the Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
- Janice Riggle Huie (D.Div 1989) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Earl Gladstone Hunt, Jr. (BD,[79] M.Div. 1946) – President of Emory and Henry College, author and theologian, Bishop of the Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
- Lewis Bevel Jones III (BA 1946, M.Div. 1949) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Clay Foster Lee, Jr. (Bachelor of Divinity 1953) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Richard Carl Looney – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Arthur James Moore (attended as undergraduate 1909–1911) – Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS), the Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church
- Carl Julian Sanders (BD 1936) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Roy Hunter Short – Bishop of the Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
- William Turner Watkins (Ph.B. 1926) – Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS) and the Methodist Church
- Timothy W. Whitaker (M.Div. 1973) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Richard J. Wills, Jr. (M.Div. 1967) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- John K. Yambasu (M.Theo.[80]) – Bishop of the United Methodist Church for Sierra Leone
Ministers and theologians
Science
Medicine
- Heidi Blanck (PhD) – epidemiologist and chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Mark Elliott Brecher (BA) – retired Chief Medical Officer LabCorp, Emeritus Professor University of North Carolina
- Lisa Cooper (BA) – public health physician, professor at Johns Hopkins University, recipient of the MacArthur Fellows Program fellowship[85]
- Robert DuPont (BA 1958) – national leader in drug abuse prevention, policy and treatment
- H. Winter Griffith (MD 1953) – physician who authored 27 popular medical books
- TImothy Harlan (BA 1987, MD 1991) – physician, chef and author
- John R. Heller Jr. – director of National Cancer Institute 1948–1960
- Hamilton E. Holmes (MD 1967) – orthopedic physician
- Chonnettia Jones – geneticist and developmental biologist; director of insight and analysis at Wellcome Trust
- William N. Kelley (BA, MD) – CEO of University of Pennsylvania Health System, Dean of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, co-discoverer of Kelley-Seegmiller Syndrome
- Alisha Kramer (MD 2018) – physician and health activist
- Michael J. Kuhar – Candler Professor of Neuropharmacology at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory
- David Malebranche (MD 1996[86]) – Haitian-American physician working in the field of HIV/AIDS; assistant professor of medicine at Emory University
- Arnold J. Mandell – neuroscientist and psychiatrist, founding chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego
- J. Michael Millis (BA 1981) – academic and surgeon
- Arnall Patz (BA 1943, MD 1945[87]) – ophthalmology researcher and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who discovered that oxygen therapy causes blindness in infants
- Thomas M. Rivers (BA 1909?) – virologist, headed the National Science Foundation's search for a polio vaccine
- Charles H. Roadman II (MD 1973[88]) – 16th United States Air Force Surgeon General
- William C. Roberts (MD 1958[89]) – cardiologist and pathologist, first head of pathology for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; executive director of the Baylor Cardiovascular Institute of Baylor University Medical Center
- Jane Anne Russell – endocrinologist, biochemistry professor[90]
- Aalisha Sahukhan (MPH) – communicable disease expert, and head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji
- David Sherer – physician, author and inventor
- Eugene A. Stead (BS 1928, MD 1932[91]) – medical educator, researcher, and the founder of the physician assistant profession
- Edwin Trevathan (MD 1982, MPH 1982[92]) – pediatrician and pediatric neurologist; dean of the School of Public Health at St. Louis University, former director of the Center for Disease Control's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- W. Dean Warren – former chairman of the Department of Surgery and president of the American College of Surgeons
Journalism
- Hank Klibanoff – former Managing Editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, current journalism professor
Literature
- Geoffrey Bennington – literary critic and philosopher, expert on deconstruction
- Michael A. Elliott – Charles Howard Candler Professor of English, 20th President of Amherst College
- Richard Ellmann – Robert Woodruff Professor and preeminent James Joyce scholar
- Mikhail Epstein – S.C. Dobbs Professor of cultural theory and Russian literature
- Shoshana Felman – literary critic, commentator on psychoanalysis, and founder of trauma theory
- Ha Jin – Chinese-American writer, former Professor of English at Emory; winner of the National Book Award, PEN/Faulkner Award, Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, Pulitzer Prize finalist
- James H. Morey – Professor of English, expert in Middle English
- Salman Rushdie – author and literary scholar
- Avi Sharon – professor of classics, translator, consultant
- Stephen Spender – artist in residence, mid-1980s
- Natasha Trethewey – Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, United States Poet Laureate 2012 and Robert W. Woodruff professor of English and Creative Writing
Medicine
- Renato D. Alarcón – head of the Department of Psychiatry[109]
- Robert Wayne Alexander – chair of the medical school, 1999
- Daniel Brat – neuropathologist and academic, Emory professor 1999–2017, current Magerstadt Professor of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine
- Doug Bremner – Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology, School of Medicine, author
- Sanjay Gupta – Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Emory; CNN medical correspondent
- Thomas R. Insel – neuroscientist; director of the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center at Emory 1994–1999; left to become director of the National Institute of Mental Health[110]
- Mildred M. Jordan – president of the Medical Library Association[111]
- Melvin Konner – Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology
- Han Qide (韩启德) – Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress of China; previously with Emory School of medicine 1985–1987[112] and Woodruff Medal Winner in 2006
- Barbara Rothbaum – psychologist and head of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory
- Neil B. Shulman – Associate Professor in the School of Medicine, author, children's book writer, website and movie developer
- Eric Sorscher – professor, Center for Cystic Fibrosis and Airways Disease Research
Music
- Eric Nelson – Director of Choral Studies; conductor of Emory's 40-voice Concert Choir and its 180-voice University Chorus; 2004 recipient of "Crystal Apple" award for excellence in teaching at Emory
- Ignatius Alphonso Few, 1836–1839[113]
- Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, 1840–1848
- George Foster Pierce, 1848 -1854
- Alexander Means, 1854–1855
- James R. Thomas, 1855–1867
- Luther M. Smith (1848C), 1867–1871
- Osborn Lewis Smith (1842C), 1871–1875
- Atticus Green Haygood (1859C), 1875–1884
- Isaac Stiles Hopkins (1859C), 1884–1888
- Warren Akin Candler (1875C), 1888–1898
- Charles E. Dowman (1873C), 1898–1902
- James Edward Dickey (1891C), 1902–1915
- Harvey Warren Cox, 1920–1942
- Goodrich C. White (1908C), 1942–1957
- S. Walter Martin, 1957–1962
- Sanford S. Atwood, 1963–1977
- James T. Laney, 1977–1993
- Billy E. Frye (1954G, 1956 Ph.D.), 1993–1994
- William Chace, 1994–2003
- James W. Wagner, 2003–2016
- Claire E. Sterk, 2016–2020
- Gregory L. Fenves, 2020–present
- "Emory University," New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 1, 2006: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org.
- Gleason, Jan. "Emory ranked 9th-best national university by U.S. News & World Report magazine" in Emory Report (Atlanta: Emory Report, 1997), Volume 50 No. 1.
- Hauk, Gary S. A Legacy of Heart and Mind : Emory since 1836 (Atlanta: Emory University, developed and produced by Bookhouse Group, Inc., 1999).
- Young, James Harvey. "A Brief History of Emory University," in Emory College Catalog 2003–2005 (Atlanta: Emory University Office of University Publications, 2003), 9–15.