We mourn the passing of Dr. James T. Laney, President emeritus of Emory University, former United States ambassador to South Korea, a United Methodist clergy and missionary, and a lifelong partner of the general agencies of the United Methodist Church, including the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). He was involved for decades in the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools (AUMTS) and the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC), now North American Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (NAAMSCU). Moreover, he was a strong supporter of IAMSCU since its inception in 1991.
James T. Laney was born in Arkansas and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He graduated from Central High School in Memphis and then earned his B.A. in Economics from Yale University. He was an American soldier during the Korean War, having worked in Korea since 1947 in the Army Counter-Intelligence Corps. He then returned to Yale do finish his B.D. in 1954 and was eventually ordained as a United Methodist minister. Building on his previous experience in Korea, he returned to South Korea to serve as a Missionary there from 1959 to 1964, thus being connected to the Methodist Board of Missions, which is the predecessor of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). During this time, he also taught at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. After his return to the United States and service as pastor, chaplain, and teacher at secondary schools, he finished his PhD with a focus on Social Ethics at Yale University and continued his academic career joining Vanderbilt University in 1966 and then serving as Dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University between 1969 and 1977. He was Visiting Professor at Harvard University in 1974 and was recruited as President of Emory University in 1977, where he implemented a humanistic ideal as a guiding thread across many areas.
He served as President for a long time, 16 years, during which the institution grew exponentially, attracting significant donations to its endowments and becoming one of the most important centers for higher education in the liberal arts, theology, law, and health in the United States. During this time, he continued to support Methodist education, served on various boards and committees, including the committee involved in the creation and choice of location of Africa University in Zimbabwe. Laney was also involved in the foundation of IAMSCU, as he was a delegate to the WMC Conference in Singapore in 1991, when IAMSCU was established. After leaving the presidency of Emory, he was appointed US Ambassador to South Korea by President Bill Clinton, serving there between 1993 and 1997, and being one of the leading experts in US-North Korea relations. His knowledge of the language and culture helped defuse a possible nuclear crisis with North Korea in 1994. Laney continued to advise the US government on Korean matters and served as special presidential envoy in Asia.
Participants in the Joint AUMTS-NASCUMC-IAMSCU Conference in 2019
In 2011, Dr. James T. Laney was the keynote speaker at the Joint NASCUMC-IAMSCU Conference held in Washington, DC, USA, when he insisted on a theme that had shaped his whole career, the important role of university presidents in promoting an ethical leadership. In 2019, IAMSCU, NASCUMC, and AUMTS held another joint conference at Emory University and The Carter Center in Atlanta and jointly awarded Laney the “Ethical Leadership Award” that was then named “The James T. Laney Ethical Leadership Award.” This “moral leadership” was documented in a book by Stuart Gulley, the current Executive Secretary of NAAMSCU, who published The Academic President as a Moral Leader: James T. Laney at Emory University (1977-1993) in 2001 and evaluated the changes performed at Emory during Laney’s tenure. Laney was also honored by the World Methodist Council in that same year, receiving the Peace Award for his efforts to promote peace in the Korean Peninsula.
Besides exercising his ethical leadership within Methodism (as pastor, missionary, teacher, theologian, Dean, and University President), Laney also served his community, his country, and the world, serving in committees at Harvard University, Yale University, the Coca-Cola Foundation, SunTrust Georgia, Africa University, Henry Luce Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations, and many other organizations. He was recognized for his leadership and received 22 honorary degrees from colleges and universities in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Recognizing his contribution to the development of Yonsei University, the Korean university established the James Laney Distinguished Professorship and the James T. Laney Lecture Series.
The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) mourns the passing of Dr. James T. Laney and celebrates his long and accomplished life. The association presents its condolences to his family on behalf of a worldwide network of educational institutions in the Wesleyan and Methodist traditions.