James T. Laney, who served as Emory University’s 17th president from 1977 to 1993, died Aug. 13, 2026, at 98, Emory News reported. His presidency helped move Emory from a regional teaching institution toward major research-university stature.
From 1969 to 1977, Laney was dean of Emory’s Candler School of Theology. He expanded the faculty and student body, tripled the library and established new education and training programs.
Laney became president in 1977. He announced a $105 million gift from Robert and George Woodruff and used the new resources for faculty hiring, scholarships and academic programs, as well as public-health and building projects.
In 1982, Laney recruited former President Jimmy Carter to Emory. The university established the Carter Center, which focused on international peace and public-health work. Emory launched the Rollins School of Public Health in 1990, and the school soon began rising among the country’s leading public-health programs.
President Bill Clinton nominated Laney as U.S. ambassador to South Korea in 1993. During Laney’s tenure, the United States and North Korea reached the Oct. 21, 1994, Agreed Framework, a deal that ended an 18-month nuclear crisis and called for freezing North Korea’s plutonium program in exchange for energy assistance. Laney served until Feb. 5, 1996. In 2009, Emory named its graduate school the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies.
