James “Jimmy” Earl Carter Jr., the 39th President of the United States of America, passed away on Sunday, December 29, 2024. Together with Emory University – an institution affiliated to IAMSCU and The Carter Center – and many other individuals and organizations around the world which are committed to the promotion of peace and human rights across the nations, the IAMSCU community and the IAMSCU Human Rights Network join those who mourn this loss and celebrate his life and legacy. Jimmy Carter was 100 years old and was the longest living President of the United States. He was married to Rosalynn Carter for 77 years, and she passed away in 2023.
Carter was known as a farmer in Plains, in the state of Georgia (USA), who taught Sunday School at his local church and later engaged in local politics, becoming a Georgia Senator, governor, and then President of the United States. During his long and centenary life, he had multiple important awards and international achievements that it would be impossible to list them all. Therefore, we focus on his lifelong effort to promote peace, justice, and human rights across the world as well as his connections to Emory University and, thus, with IAMSCU.
Upon leaving the US Presidency, Jimmy Carter decided to dedicate his life to peace and human rights, building on the work he had already established, especially his role in mediating the historical peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. He thus founded The Carter Center in partnership with Emory University in 1982, with the goals of waging peace, fighting disease, building hope, and promoting human rights. The choice of Emory University to house The Carter Center was largely due to the effort of the Emory President Emeritus, James T. Laney, who had a close relationship with Mr. Carter and strongly supported his initiative. The Carter Center was initially house in the Candler School of Theology until the center was able to build its own headquarters. Dean James Waits, a leading Methodist educator, was the first (founding) Executive Director of the Carter Center. Due to this connection to the Carter Center, Emory University had an entire year of activities emphasizing human rights on campus, with concerts, lectures, seminars, and many other activities. Dr. Gerald Lord – former Associate Dean of Candler School of Theology, Vice-President of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Associate General Secretary for Higher Education at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), and IAMSCU Executive Secretary – was very involved in these activities, and human rights has been a major emphasis at Emory ever since.
Jimmy Carter became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University, a position he held for 40 years during which he delivered The Carter Town Hall at Emory yearly. Moreover, he received tenured in four departments: Candler School of Theology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, and Rollins School of Public Health. At the celebration of the Centenary of Emory’s Law School, Carter delivered a special lecture on “Human Rights in Today’s World.” During his Carter Town Hall lecture in 2018 he stated that he “would like to be remembered as a champion of human rights, as a president who kept our country at peace, and as having been distinguished professor at Emory University.”
It is no surprise, therefore, that in 2019 IAMSCU joined forces with the North American Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (NAAMSCU), the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools (AUMTS), the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of the United Methodist Church, and The Carter Center to honor Jim Laney with the IAMSCU’s Ethical Leadership Award. This event was dedicated to themes such as ethics, peace, and human rights. President Carter was invited to attend and honor his colleague but was unable to attend and sent his regrets.
Beyond this event and these connections, Jimmy Carter’s influence touched many other IAMSCU members worldwide. Beyond his role promoting peace in the Middle East, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and traveled extensively to many countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean to observe and promote fair democratic elections. In several countries around the world, he also had the opportunity to visit Methodist related educational institutions. He volunteered on housing projects for Habitat for Humanity, initiatives to bring awareness about HIV and AIDS, and campaigns to alleviate world poverty – always with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, at his side until she passed away on November 23, 2023, and had her national tribute service hosted by Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, in Atlanta. On October 1, 2024, President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday, and in November 2024 he voted during the US Presidential elections. He passed away on December 29, 2024, and his life and legacy are being celebrated around the world.
For more information on President Jimmy Carter’s long life and career as well as his connections to Emory University, visit Emory celebrates President Jimmy Carter at 100 and Emory remembers President Jimmy Carter