Interim President Leah Ward Sears concluded her term at the helm of Emory University and a new President is starting in this position in September 2026. Dr. Christopher L. Augostini was elected the 22nd President of Emory. Also, Dr. Terence L. Johnson was selected as Dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University, succeeding Jonathan Strom as the Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean at Candler.
President Christopher L. Augostini [Photo: Emory University]
Augostini served for 17 years as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Georgetown University, before joining Emory University. Upon joining Emory, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Emory Healthcare, then became Executive Vice President for Business and Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Emory University. He was appointed Executive Vice President and enterprise Chief Operating Officer in 2025, being responsible for making sure that Emory’s academic and clinical missions were strategically and sustainably advanced. Building on these previous executive positions as well as his membership in many civic and corporate Boards of Directors, Augostini was selected as President of the university, with an official start on September 1st, 2026.
Dean Terrence L. Johnson [Photo: Harvard University]
Johnson had previous experiences at Georgetown University and Harvard University before joining Candler. At Georgetown, he was Chair of Political Theory in the Department of Government, then became Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and played a key role in the creation of Georgetown’s Humanities Center. At Harvard, he was Director of Religion and Public Life as well as Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School. He also served as a Faculty Associate of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, a core faculty member for the university’s Program in American Studies, a member of the Department of African and African American Studies, and a member of the Corporation of Haverford College. September 1st, 2026, marks the start of Johnson’s term as Dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
For more information on these new leaders, visit Emory University and Candler School of Theology.