James W. Wagner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James W. Wagner is the president of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Wagner came to Emory in September 2003 after serving as provost and interim president of Case Western Reserve University. He is the successor to William Chace.
He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware in 1975 and a master's degree in clinical engineering in 1978 from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1984, he completed his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins in materials science and engineering.
As Wagner is an award winning researcher and professor of engineering, some find it surprising he is president of Emory, which lacks an engineering school. Wagner does not look at Emory's lack of an engineering school as a negative, and, in fact, his stature and experience as an engineer has bolstered the engineering programs at Emory, such as the joint program Emory has with Georgia Tech in engineering, in addition to enhancing the university's offerings to its students.
Since coming to Emory in 2003, he has overseen the creation of strategic and master plans for the future of the university. He is extremely popular on campus with both students and faculty and is constantly meeting students and participating in student activities.
Many consider Wagner a rising star in the higher education field. Speaking to students in March 2006, Wagner said he would like to retire at Emory.
