James T. Laney

James Thomas Laney (December 24, 1927 – August 13, 2026) was an American minister, academic and diplomat. He served as dean of the Candler School of Theology, president of Emory University, and United States Ambassador to South Korea.

Early life and education Laney was born in Wilson, Arkansas in the American South and grew up in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from Central High School in Memphis, he earned his B.A. degree in economics at Yale University. His studies were interrupted by service in the United States Army in the late 1940s, when he went to Korea, in January 1947, after World War II and the removal of Japanese rule. He served in the Counterintelligence Corps. According to a biography posted on the Emory University website, "He would say later in life that the experience in Korea so changed his thinking about the world, that by the time he returned to Yale to finish his degree, in 1950, he had determined to enter the ministry." to 1993. In 1979, two years after he became the university's president, Emory received an identity-changing $105 million gift from Robert W. Woodruff, the former Coca-Cola Company chairman, and his brother George W. Woodruff. At the time, this was the largest philanthropic gift in U.S. history. Boosted by these resources, and guided by Laney's strategic vision, Emory transformed itself by hiring preeminent faculty, recruiting some of the best students, and raising its academic standing. on October 15, 1993, He served in the administration of Clinton until the end of Clinton’s first term, on January 20, 1997.

Other involvements In 1974, Laney was a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School. He later chaired the Harvard Board of Overseers committee for Harvard Divinity School and has served on the Executive Committee of the Yale University Council. He served as a trustee of the Henry Luce Foundation in New York; he was the co-chair, with Andrew Young, of Faith and the City in Atlanta; His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous other publications.

As president of Emory University, Laney offered former President Jimmy Carter to assume the role of distinguished professor on the condition that Carter would have an opportunity to lecture all of the schools of the university each year and that Carter's comments would never be restricted or censored in any way. Carter accepted his offer in April 1982 and worked with Emory University to establish what would become The Carter Center associated with the university.

Personal life and death Laney was married to Berta Radford Laney, whom he met when they were in high school. She was the niece of Admiral Arthur Radford, who was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the second chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jim and Berta Laney had five children, the two youngest of whom were born in Seoul, Korea, when the family lived there from 1959 to 1964, during Laney's missionary work.

Laney died on August 13, 2026, at the age of 98.

Honors and awards Laney received nearly two dozen honorary degrees from colleges and universities on four continents, including Yale University, Yonsei University in Korea, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, Africa University, and Emory University. Yonsei University also created the James T. Laney Professorship in International Relations. He received the United States Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Kangwa Medal for Distinguished Diplomatic Service from the Republic of Korea, the Kellogg Award for Leadership in Higher Education, the Wilbur L. Cross Medal from Yale, the Emory Medal, the General James Van Fleet award from the Korea Society, and the World Methodist Peace Award. In 2014, the Candler School of Theology created the James T. and Berta Laney Program in Moral Leadership, which supports an endowed professorship in their name.