Ticker

Emory’s Board of Trustees has elected two new members: Coca-Cola executive Javier Goizueta and BJC Healthcare CEO Steven Lipstein 78C. They will serve six-year appointments as term trustees. In addition, current alumni trustee and lawyer Diane Savage 71C was elected to the 45-member board as a term trustee.

Poet Kevin Young wins American Book Award

Haygood Professor of English Kevin Young has won the 2012 American Book Award in Poetry from the Before Columbus Foundation for his collection, Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels (Knopf, 2011). For 33 years, this award has been given by other writers to honor the diversity of American literature.

Emory still No. 20

Emory has again been ranked No. 20 among the nation’s top universities in the 2013 Best Colleges guidebook from US News & World Report. Emory also was listed as No. 18 among national universities offering the “best value” to students. Goizueta Business School came in No. 14 in the undergraduate business rankings. For a complete list, visit Emory News Center.

HIV/AIDS vaccine research receives boost

Emory will receive about $7 million as part of a national effort to develop a vaccine against HIV and AIDS. The new Centers for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, funded by a projected total of $186 million from the National Institutes of Health, will be directed by the Scripps Research Institute and Duke University.

NSF awards $20 million to organic synthesis center

The National Science Foundation has awarded $20 million to Emory’s Center for Selective C-H Functionalization, which brings together scientists from universities across the country working to revolutionize the field of organic synthesis. Used to create everything from medicines to coffee cups, the process can be “faster, simpler, and greener,” says center director Huw Davies.

Clinical and Translational Science Institute makes research matter

An Atlanta research coalition launched five years ago, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has secured a new $31 million federal grant to continue its mission of applied research. One of the biggest successes of the institute, led by Emory and other member institutions, was the South’s first human hand transplant at Emory.

Top Christian scholars featured in new lecture series

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the McDonald Agape Foundation to create a new lecture series, the McDonald Distinguished Faculty Lectures on Christian Scholarship, designed to showcase the world’s preeminent Christian scholars on law, politics, and society. It will begin in fall 2013.

Emory experts coauthor book on predictive health

Associate Vice President and Director of the Predictive Health Initiative Kenneth Brigham and former Chancellor and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Michael M. E. Johns have coauthored Predictive Health: How We Can Reinvent Medicine to Extend Our Best Years, which focuses on how health care can be improved over the lifespan.

New development on Clifton opens this fall

Emory Point, the new Cousins Properties development on Clifton Road across from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with apartments, retail, and dining, is opening this fall. Residents recently began moving into the 443 apartments. Retailers range from CVS and Marlow’s Tavern to American Threads.

String quartets forever

The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta has received a $1 million challenge grant from the Abraham J. and Phyllis Katz Foundation to “keep a string quartet in residence forever,” says artistic director, Emerson Professor of Piano William Ransom. All chamber concerts this year will be free in honor of the society’s 20th anniversary, with donations directed to the grant.

Carter’s 31st Emory town hall

Former President Jimmy Carter addressed the latest events in the Middle East, including the deaths of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya, during his annual town hall meeting at Emory on September 12. It was the 31st time Carter has addressed the freshman class at Emory.

Emory and Coursera to offer online courses

Emory and 16 other institutions have announced an agreement with the online course provider Coursera to offer selected courses online at no cost, beginning next spring. In less than a year, Coursera has expanded to host more than 200 courses from 33 universities, reaching more than 1.3 million students globally.