Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church is located on the campus of Emory University.
Emory College was founded in 1836 inOxford, Georgia, by theMethodist Episcopal Church.[29] The college was named in honor of the departed Methodist bishopJohn Emory.[29]Ignatius Alphonso Few was the college's first president. In 1854, the Atlanta Medical College, a forerunner ofEmory University School of Medicine, was founded. On April 12, 1861, theAmerican Civil War began. Emory College was closed in November 1861 and all of its students enlisted on the Confederate side.[29] In late 1863 the war reached Georgia and the college was used as hospital and later a headquarters for theUnion Army. The university produced many officers who served in the war, including GeneralGeorge Thomas Anderson (1846C) who fought in nearly every major battle in theeastern theater. Thirty-five Emory students lost their lives and much of the campus was destroyed during the war.[30]
In 1880,Atticus Greene Haygood, Emory College President, delivered a speech expressing gratitude for the end ofslavery in the United States, which captured the attention of George I. Seney, a New York banker. Seney gave Emory College $5,000 to repay its debts, $50,000 for construction, and $75,000 to establish a new endowment. In the 1880s, the technology department was launched byIsaac Stiles Hopkins, a polymath professor at Emory College. Hopkins became the first president of theGeorgia Institute of Technology in 1888. Emory University's first international student,Yun Chi-ho, graduated in 1893.[31] Yun became an important political activist inKorea.[32][33]
In 1917, the United States joined theFirst World War, and Emory University responded by organizing a medical unit composed of faculty and alumni of the medical school. The unit, which became known as Emory Unit, Base Hospital 43, served inLoir-et-Cher, France, from July 1918 to January 1919. During theSecond World War, the Emory Unit was mobilized once again and served in theNorth African campaign and Europe. Emory's contributions to the war effort were recognized by christening a ship, M.S. Emory Victory, which served during World War II and the Korean War.[citation needed]
Thewomen's movement andcivil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s in the United States profoundly shaped the future of Emory University. Formerly an all-male school, Emory officially became a coeducational institution in 1953. Although it had previously admitted women under limited circumstances, the university had never before had a policy through which they could enroll in large numbers and as resident students. In 1959, sororities first appeared on campus. In 1962, in the midst of the civil rights movement, Emory embraced the initiative to end racial restrictions when it asked the courts to declare portions of the Georgia statutes unconstitutional. Previously, Georgia law denied tax-exempt status to private universities with racially integrated student bodies. TheSupreme Court of Georgia ruled in Emory's favor and Emory officially became racially integrated.Marvin S. Arrington Sr. was Emory University's first, full-timeAfrican American student and graduated fromEmory University School of Law in 1967.[40]
In 1971, Emory established one of the nation's firstAfrican-American studies programs and the first of its kind in the Southeastern United States.[43] Emory's diversity and academic reputation continued to flourish under the leadership of the university's fifth president,James T. Laney. In addition to leading universities in the Southeastern United States in the promotion ofracial equality, Laney and many of the school's faculty and administrators were outspoken advocates of globalhuman rights and thus were openly opposed to themilitary dictatorship in South Korea (1961–1987). On March 30, 1983, Laney's friendKim Dae-jung, while in political exile in the United States, presented a speech on human rights and democracy at Emory University and accepted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.[41] Kim would go on to play a major role in endingauthoritarianism in South Korea, served as the eighthpresident of South Korea from 1998 to 2003, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his successful implementation of theSunshine Policy. Laney would later serve asUnited States Ambassador to South Korea and Emory graduate school, founded in 1919, was named in his honor in 2009.[40]
In 2005, the university presented the President Medal, a rare award conferred only on individuals whose impact on the world has enhanced the dominion of peace or has enlarged the range of cultural achievement, toCivil Rights Movement activistRosa Parks. The award is one of the highest honors presented by Emory.[44]
In 2014, at Emory's 169th Commencement,John Lewis, the only living "Big Six" leader of the civil rights movement, delivered the keynote address and received an honorary doctor of laws degree. In 2015,Emory University School of Law received a $1.5 million donation to help establish a John Lewis Chair in Civil Rights and Social Justice. The gift, given anonymously, funds a professorship which will enable Emory Law to conduct a national search for a scholar with an established academic profile of distinction and a demonstrated desire to promote the rule of law through the study of civil rights. The law school has committed to raise an additional $500,000 to fund the chair fully.[45]
In November 1979, Emory University experienced a historical shift whenRobert Winship Woodruff andGeorge Waldo Woodruff donated $105 million worth of Coca-Cola stock to the institution. At that time, this was the largest single gift ever made to any institution of higher education in the United States.[29]
The latest additions to the Atlanta Campus include buildings for cancer research, biomedical research, scientific computation, mathematics and science, vaccine research, and the performing arts.[40]
Prior to 2018, the campus was in anunincorporated area,[46] statistically counted in theDruid Hillscensus-designated place.[47] In 2016 the university stated that it intended to petition to be annexed into the City of Atlanta;[48] in 2017 the university leadership formally submitted its petition.[49] The City of Atlanta annexed Emory's campus effective January 1, 2018, a part of its largest annexation within a period of 65 years; theAtlanta City Council voted to do so the prior December.[50]
TheGaza war sparked demonstrations around the U.S., including at Emory. On April 25, 2024, during a pro-Palestinian protest, immediately subsequent to each objecting to the police presence, police detained both philosophy chairNoëlle McAfee[52] and arrested economics professorCaroline Fohlin,[53] who was later charged with battery, following her battering by police.[54] The College of Arts and Science adopted a motion the following day for a college faculty no-confidence vote for Greg Fenves, president of the university,[55] with an electronic vote organized for the following week.[56]
Emory University is considered highly selective. The median SAT score of the class of 2023 was 1500 and median ACT score was 34. In 2022, Emory University received 33,517 applications and had a 9% regular decision admission rate and a 10.6% overall admission rate.[58] The Scholars Programs have an acceptance rate of just 2%.[59] The enrolling class was 55.4% female, 44.6% male and 10.4% of enrolling class identify as first-generation college students. Fifty-nine unique languages were spoken in the enrolling first year class and 40 countries were represented.[60] The university isneed-blind for domestic applicants.[61][62]
Emory University offers highly selectivehonors programs for high-performing undergraduates in most areas of concentration.[65] More than 25% of undergraduates participate in an honors program each year.[66]
Oxford College offers anassociate degree (A.A.) inliberal arts. Students who complete Oxford College advance to Emory College of Arts and Sciences to complete their undergraduate education.
Emory University is ranked 24th among national universities in the United States and 69th among global universities byU.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025.Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Emory 20th in the United States and 82nd among global universities for 2022–2023.[88] In 2023, QS University Rankings listed Emory as 155th among global universities.[89] The university was ranked 17th among colleges and universities in the United States in aThe Wall Street Journal survey.[90]
Emory was named as one of the "25 New Ivies" in 2006 byNewsweek.[91] Emory has also been referred to as a "Hidden Ivy".[92] In 2024 and 2025,Forbes included Emory in its list of 20 "New Ivies".[93][94]
The Princeton Review namedEmory University School of Law as one of the best 169 law schools in the U.S. in 2014. The Emory University School of Law is ranked 35th in the nation according toU.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 rankings.[95]
Bloomberg Businessweek rankedGoizueta Business School's BBA Program ninth in the nation in 2014. In 2023, Goizueta Business School's MBA program ranked 17th in the nation byU.S. News & World Report and 16th in the nation byBloomberg Businessweek.[96][97]Financial Times ranked the MBA program 36th worldwide in 2023.[98]
Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed the School of Medicine at #32 in the world for Clinical/Pre-clinical and Health in its 2019 rankings list.[99] TheEmory University School of Medicine is ranked 23rd in the nation fromU.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 rankings and also ranked 14th for Radiology, 16th for Surgery, #14 for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and 15th for Internal Medicine.[95]
In 2012, Emory University underwent an internal investigation that revealed deliberate falsification of information by members of Emory University's Office of Admission and Institutional Research. These individuals intentionally misreported data concerning entering students' standardized test scores and class rankings between 2000 and 2012 to standard reference sources and third parties who rank colleges and universities.[105] The falsified data aimed to boost the university's rankings.[105] For example, while the office reported an 89% graduation rate within the top 10% of the class, the actual figure stood at only 75%. Following the investigation, the individuals responsible either resigned or were terminated, and the university issued a public apology to address the misconduct.[106] To prevent future inaccuracies in data collection and reporting, Emory University took corrective actions in 2012 and 2013. These measures included the employment of independent data advisers to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the university's data management processes.[107]
In 1947, the university donated 15 acres (6 hectares) of land to theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services for the construction of theCDC headquarters.[111] Emory University Prevention Research Center (EPRC) and Emory Center for Injury Control are funded by the CDC.[23][112] Emory University's African Center of Excellence for Public Health Security, which seeks to improve preparedness and response to health threats in low-income countries, is a five-year, multimillion-dollar cooperative program with the CDC andInternational Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI).[113] Emory University Center for Global Safe Water (CGSW), which conducts applied research, evaluation, and training to promote global health equity through universal access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, works in collaboration with the CDC.[114][115] Emory University Global Health Institute, funded by theGates Foundation, partners with the CDC to enhance public health infrastructure in low-resource countries.[116]Emory University Hospital Isolation Unit and Quarantine Station was established by the CDC following the2003 SARS outbreak.[117] The isolation and treatment facilities at Emory University played a crucial role in ending the 2014ebola virus cases in the United States.[118] CDC scientists and administrators hold memberships and frequently speak at Emory University's Vaccine Dinner Club (VDC), an association that holds monthly academic meetings to discuss and advancevaccine research.[119] In 2015, Emory was made a member of the CDC's Prevention Epicenters Program, a research program in which CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) collaborates with academic investigators to conduct innovative infection control and prevention research.[120][121]
TheInternational Association of National Public Health Institutes is based at the university. The association was chartered in 2006 with a $20 million, five-year grant through Emory University from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2015, the Emory Global Health Institute and CDC were made lead partners for the newly created, $75 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS).[123]
Dowman Administration Building
Emory University research is heavily funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services'sNational Institutes of Health.[124] The federal agency awarded the university nearly $600 million in the fiscal year of 2021. In 2015, Emory University was one of four institutions selected by theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for its seven-year, multimillion-dollar Tuberculosis Research Units (TBRU) program, which aims to drive innovation intuberculosis research and reduce the global burden of the disease.[125] In 2015, an Emory-led research consortium received a five-year, $15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research humanimmune responses toVaricella zoster virus andpneumococcal vaccination.[126] The university also received a $9 million grant over five years from the NIH to support one of three national Centers for Collaborative Research inFragile X syndrome. The grant is a renewal of Emory's National Fragile X Research Center, continuously funded by the NIH for more than 10 years.[127] In 2015, the university received an $8.9 million grant over five years from the NIHNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to better understand the role ofreactive oxygen species and inflammation in blood vessel function and to explore new interventions and preventive approaches foratherosclerosis andaortic aneurysms.[127] In 2015, the university received an $8 million grant over five years from the NIH to develop and validate mathematical models of how prior immunity affects recall immune responses to influenza viruses. The researchers will create and disseminate powerful, user-friendly modeling tools for use by the wider research community in developing more effective vaccines.[127] In 2015, the university received a $3.6 million grant over five years from the NIH to examine the effects of maternal stress on brain function, development, and behavior in African-American infants, including the biochemical connection between the brain and the microbiome.[127] In 2015, the university received a $3.5 million grant over five years from the NIHNational Cancer Institute (NCI) for an Informatics Technology for Cancer Research award. Winship Cancer Institute and Emory School of Medicine researchers will develop software tools to help the cancer research community gain new insights from cancer imaging "big data" and develop new open-source cancer research applications.[127] In 2015, the university received a $3.4 million grant from the NIH International Collaborations in Infectious Disease Research Program to support a partnership between the Emory Vaccine Center and theInternational Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) inNew Delhi, India to studydengue virus infection in India.[127]
In 2015, Emory and Georgia Tech were awarded an $8.3 million grant by theNIH to establish a National Exposure Assessment Laboratory.[132] The laboratory will research the impact of environmental chemicals on children's health.[132] In 2015, the two universities received a five-year, $2.9 million grant from theNational Science Foundation (NSF) to create new bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs and concentrations inhealthcare robotics, which will be the first program of its kind in the Southeastern United States.[133] In 2015, Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta were awarded a four-year, $1.8 million grant by theCystic Fibrosis Foundation in order to expand the Atlanta Cystic Fibrosis Research and Development Program. As of 2015[update], Emory jointly manages the second-largestcystic fibrosis population in the United States.[24] In 2015, Emory and Georgia Tech received a $1.6 million grant from the Coulter Translational Research Partnership Program to accelerate nine promising technologies developed in research laboratories with commercialization potential.[127]
In 2023, Emory celebrated the opening of Georgia's largest health sciences research building. The eight-story, 350,000-square-foot building houses more than 1,000 researchers, including 130 principal investigators, from across a variety of specialties including: pediatrics, biomedical engineering, Winship Cancer Institute, cardiovascular medicine, the Emory Vaccine Center, radiology and brain health. The project cost $313 million to complete.[135]
Emory's Atlanta Campus, established in the early twentieth century on a Beaux-Arts master plan byPittsburgh architectHenry Hornbostel,[138] covers more than 600 acres (240 hectares) inAtlanta's historic neighborhood ofDruid Hills. The university campus is heavily forested with pine, maples, oak, and magnolias, and Peavine Creek, a branch of thePeachtree Creek, runs through the campus. TheArbor Day Foundation named Emory a Tree Campus USA school in 2015.[139] Many of the university's buildings are designed with multi-hued granite andSpanishSaltillo tile. The university has one of the largest inventories by square footage ofLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building space among campuses in the United States.[140]
In 2015, a $52 million expansion and renovation project of theSanford S. Atwood Chemistry Center was completed. The new, 270,000-square-foot (25,000 m2) complex contains laboratories, interactive teaching and study spaces, and a chemistry library.[143] The completion of the complex was accompanied by a $1.2 million grant from theHoward Hughes Medical Institute to advance and modernize the university's chemistry curriculum.[143]
During the1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the university hosted the United StatesOlympic women's gymnastics team on its Atlanta Campus.[145] The team, known as theMagnificent Seven, won the first-ever gold medal for the United States in the women's team all-around competition. The university housed international officials and journalists and served as a training facility forOlympians. The Cox Hall Ballroom was transformed into a news center for the Olympic foreign press.[145]
In February 2017, Emory announced that its R. Howard Dobbs University Center, built in 1986 from aneofuturisticpostmodernist design by local architectJohn C. Portman Jr., to house the university's main student/faculty center and dining hall (Coca-Cola Commons), would be demolished and replaced with a new $98 million Campus Life Center, designed byDurham, North Carolina–based Duda Paine Architects. Reasons given for the replacement included inconvenience of food delivery to the dining hall, undersized kitchen facilities, and inadequatefenestration in the Commons.[138] The Emory Student Center (ESC), opened in May 2019, includes a dining hall, study and collaboration spaces, game room, a 1,400-plus-person multipurpose space, coffee shop, and food emporium. It is the first building on Emory's campus to receive aLEED platinum rating.[146]
In fall 2024, the university had a total enrollment of 16,142 students, with a full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment of 15,121. Of the total enrolled students, 60.2% identified as female (9,719) and 39.8% as male (6,423). The age distribution included 0.6% under age 18, 65.4% between the ages of 18 and 24, and 34.1% who were 25 or older.[148]
Emory reported that 23.5% of students (3,800) identified as members of historically underrepresented groups (HUGs), while 76.5% (12,342) dis not. Regarding first-generation college student status, 7.5% (1,210) of undergraduates identified as first-generation, 41.0% (6,616) were non-first-generation students, and 3.4% (548) had an unknown status. Graduate students made up 48.1% of the total enrollment (7,768).[148]
In terms of racial and ethnic diversity, 0.1% of students identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, 19.7% as Asian, 13.8% as Black or African American, 9.6% as Hispanic or Latino, and 0.1% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Students identifying as two or more races comprised 9.4% of the population, while 32.2% identified as White. Nonresident aliens, typically international students, represented 18.2% of the total enrollment, and 2.5% of students had race or ethnicity listed as unknown.[148]
Ninety-six percent of enrolled students (15,494) were pursuing a degree, while 4.0% (648) were non-degree-seeking. Emory’s academic career distribution was nearly even, with 51.9% of students enrolled as undergraduates (8,374) and 48.1% as graduate or professional students (7,768). Most students, 90.5% (14,610), were enrolled full-time, while 9.5% (1,532) are part-time.[148]
With regard to residency, 21.0% of students were from the state of Georgia, 60.9% were from out of state, and 18.2% were international students. Students were distributed across Emory's nine academic divisions: Emory College of Arts and Sciences enrolled the largest share at 34.5% (5,567), followed by Goizueta Business School at 14.4% (2,319), Laney Graduate School at 13.0% (2,092), and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at 8.6% (1,393). Other divisions included the School of Medicine (6.4%, 1,032), Oxford College (6.0%, 967), Rollins School of Public Health (6.1%, 977), School of Law (5.2%, 839), Allied Health Programs (3.3%, 534), and Candler School of Theology (2.6%, 422).[148]
Students may engage in the performing and fine arts as an area of academic study or as extracurricular activities. Undergraduates may pursue a major in the performing arts (dance, theater, or music) or in film studies, art history, visual arts, or creative writing.[149] Graduate programs in art history, film studies, and music are offered.[150] There are more than 50 student organizations dedicated to the arts. Students can explore artistic interests as diverse as architecture, breakdancing, poetry, and improvisational comedy.[151] Emory routinely hosts arts events in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts that are open to the Emory and Atlanta communities. Recent[when?] performances include Bang on a Can All-Stars (a side project of drummerGlenn Kotche from the rock bandWilco), jazz performerEsperanza Spalding, and New York's Cedar Lake Dance Company. A program called Creativity Conversations brings artistic minds to campus to discuss art and the creative process. Guests have includedPhilip Glass,Jimmy Carter,Salman Rushdie,Seamus Heaney andRita Dove.[152][153][154] Rita Dove also gave the keynote address at Emory's 2013 Commencement.[155]
The university received the 2008 Presidential Award for General Community Service, which is the highest federal recognition given to higher education institutions for their commitment to community service, service-learning and civic engagement.[158] About 25% of Emory students participate in Volunteer Emory, Emory's umbrella community service group.[159] Emory Cares International Service Day contributes to projects organized by Emory and partners around the city of Atlanta, and beyond.[160]
The Emory Wheel is thestudent-run newspaper of Emory University. Serving the Emory community since 1919, theWheel is editorially and financially independent from the university. The staff is composed entirely of students, with the exception of the general manager, who oversees advertising and whose salary is paid by the newspaper.[161][162]
Fraternities have existed on Emory's campus as early as 1840. One early chronicler makes the case that Emory's "temple" of theMystic Seven may have been the first chapter of a national fraternity established anywhere in the South. Today, approximately 20% of the Emory student population participates.[163] There are approximately eight sorority chapters[164] and eleven fraternity chapters.[165]
Hundreds of student clubs and organizations operate on Emory's campus. These include numerousstudent government,special interest, andservice organizations. The Student Government Association charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration.[166] Emory also has severalsecret societies—thePaladin Society, theD.V.S. Senior Honor Society, Ducemus, Speculum, and theOrder of Ammon.[167] Coca-Cola pledged three million dollars over a five-year period for "Service for Learning," which coordinates Emory student volunteers in various projects.[168]
There is anintramural sports program[169] and a variety of recreational and competitive intramural teams.[170]
^Separated brethren: a review of Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox & other religions in the United States.Our Sunday Visitor. 2002.ISBN9781931709057.Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. RetrievedMarch 27, 2010.Among Protestant denominations, Methodists take first place in hospitals and colleges. Some of their one hundred colleges and universities have all but severed ties with the denominations, but others remain definitely Methodist: Syracuse, Boston, Emory, Duke, Drew, Denver, and Southern Methodist. The church operates 360 schools and institutions overseas. Methodists establishedGoodwill Industries in 1907 to help handicapped persons help themselves by repairing and selling old furniture and clothes. The United Methodist Church runs seventy-two hospitals in the United States.
^ab"Kim Dae Jung speech, 1983".Findingaids.library.emory.edu. February 25, 2014.Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. RetrievedOctober 20, 2017.
^"Kim Dae Jung Facts".Kdjlibrary.library.emory.edu.Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. RetrievedOctober 20, 2017.
^Greene, Howard; Greene, Matthew W. (2000).The Hidden Ivies, 3rd Edition: 63 of America's Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities. New York: Cliff Street Books.ISBN978-0-06-095362-1.
^"Archbishop Tutu Bids Farewell to Emory".The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (28): 64. Summer 2000.ProQuest195559348.
^"William H. Foege, MD, MPH"(PDF).National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 14, 2021. RetrievedJuly 31, 2022.
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Gleason, Jan. "Emory ranked ninth-best national university by U.S. News & World Report magazine" inEmory Report 50, no. 1 (1997).
Hauk, Gary S.A Legacy of Heart and Mind: Emory since 1836 (Atlanta: Emory University, developed and produced by Bookhouse Group, Inc., 1999).
Hauk, Gary S. Where Courageous Inquiry Leads [Atlanta; Emory University, 2010].
Young, James Harvey. "A Brief History of Emory University", inEmory College Catalog 2003–2005 (Atlanta: Emory University Office of University Publications, 2003), 9–15.