The Emory Board of Trustees announced two major leadership changes to the university on Tuesday, including the introduction of a new interim president.
The university announced that President Gregory L. Fenves will step down from his role on Sept. 1 and take over as the school’s chancellor. Leah Ward Sears, current Emory Board of Trustees member and former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, will become interim president.
“Dr. Fenves has been a highly effective and dedicated president, and this new role will enable him to build on the essential growth he helped facilitate while focusing on Emory’s future,” Board of Trustees Chair Bob Goddard said in a press release.
According to the university, Fenves and the Board of Trustees explored a potential refocusing of his role amidst the “backdrop of a challenging moment in higher education.”
Fenves has led Emory through several arduous periods since becoming president in August 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2024 protests against the war in Gaza. Fenves came under fire for his actions during those protests, leading about 2,500 undergraduate students and a majority of the faculty in the school’s College of Arts and Sciences to vote “no confidence” in him.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have Greg’s thoughtful, principled, and charismatic leadership over the past five years as president,” Goddard said. “I am particularly grateful for his leadership over the past several years as he worked to keep our campus safe, to ensure that our academic mission could continue without disruption, and to position Emory to successfully navigate an increasingly complex landscape.”
Sears, a former adjunct professor at the school, began her relationship with the institution as an Emory Law student in 1977. In 1985, she became the first African American woman to serve as a Superior Court judge in Georgia. Seven years later, in 1992, then-Gov. Zell Miller appointed her to the Georgia Supreme Court, where she served four years of her 17-year tenure as chief justice.
In Tuesday’s release, Sears referred to her appointment as a “full circle moment.”
“In 1977, I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to the Emory School of Law, and it changed my life,” Sears said. “I think my life’s work has been a payback for that gift, and I welcome the chance to serve Emory as it continues to change lives the way it did for me and my family.”
“I’ve been privileged to work with Leah during my tenure as chair, and she’s one of the sharpest and most principled leaders I know,” Goddard added. “She’s a great listener and a consensus builder. We’re extremely fortunate she is willing to take on this role, and I know she will guide the university with a strong and steady hand until we select a new president.”
The Emory Board will launch a nationwide search for a new president.
