Record crowd honors newest medalists

The newest pair of Emory Medalists, Bill Fox 79G (left) and Dwight "Ronnie" Weathers 60C 62D 66D flank President Jim Wagner following the October 4 ceremony at which they were honored. The medals they received (and are wearing above) and brand new, having been cast earlier this fall. It's the first time in 20 years the Emory Medal, which dates back to the 1940s, has been redesigned.

With more than 80 years as Emory students, faculty, and administrators between them and countless more connections with alumni from across the generations, it’s understandable that a record number of guests turned out for the Emory Medal Ceremony, October 4, that honored 2007 recipients Bill Fox 79PhD and Dwight “Ronnie” Weathers 60C 62D 66D.           

Some 300 guests, the most ever, turned out to fete Fox (Emory’s first vice president for Campus Life and vice president for institutional advancement for 14 years) and Weathers (former dean of Emory’s School of Dentistry and still a faculty member and administrator in the School of Medicine).            

“My time at Emory has been enormously exciting, satisfying, and rewarding, and continues to be so after all these years,” Weathers said during his brief remarks after being presented his medal by President Jim Wagner. “I’m so happy that Emory has provided me with everything anyone could ask for in a career.”

The Emory Medal is the University’s highest honor presented exclusively to alumni. Recipients are chosen by the Emory Alumni Board (EAB) (an advisory group to the EAA), which selects them from a list of nominations provided by members of the Emory community. In various forms, the Medal has been presented to more than 250 recipients since 1946. The two newest honorees are among the most accomplished.            

Fox came to Emory in 1971 to pursue a doctorate in religion and literature. He began his administrative career in 1974, and in 1979 completed his Ph.D. He wasted little time celebrating that accomplishment.           

Or maybe he spent the 26 years celebrating that accomplishment. Shortly after earning his doctorate, Fox was named Emory’s first dean of Campus Life (and promoted to vice president three years later). He connected with thousands of Emory students on a personal level, and for many was a trusted friend.           

“I used to study faces and names,” Fox said to the crowd, which included many of those former students. “I wanted to be able to call everyone I saw by name.”            

In 1991, Fox moved to Institutional Advancement (a division now known as Development and Alumni Relations) as vice president, and served 14 years as Emory’s chief fund-raiser before retiring in 2005. During his tenure, the division raised $2 billion. Fox transformed the institution and, not that his legacy needed any more ensuring, he and wife Carol also lent the family name to the Bill and Carol Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry during Homecoming 2006. He now serves as president of the Rollins Educational Initiative.           

Weathers, a native of Milledgeville, earned a bachelor’s from Emory College and two degrees from Emory’s School of Dentistry. In 1966, he joined the dental school factory and worked his way up to dean in 1985. Unfortunately, that was the same year the Board of Trustees voted to close the school.           

With a school on the verge of closing, Weathers’ seven years as dean certainly were not easy. But despite the most difficult of circumstances, he persevered, even flourished. Weathers worked tirelessly with dental school alumni, keeping them connected to Emory. That so many dental school alumni have chosen to remain a part of the Emory community is testimony to Weathers’ tireless work.           

Following the closing of the school, Emory’s dental training moved to the School of Medicine. Weathers moved there as well, and now serves as director of dental programs and vice chair of oral pathology.           

Past Emory Medal ceremonies have been held in the Miller-Ward Alumni House. However, to accommodate the overflow crowd, this year’s event was moved from to the Emory Conference Center. Also new for 2007 was the Emory Medal itself. Earlier this fall, for the first time in 20 years, the Emory Medal was resigned. Since the last ceremony in October 2006, the Emory Alumni Association changed its name (from the Association of Emory Alumni). The new design reflects the name.            

Fox and Weathers are the first recipients of the new medal, making them (until October 2008, anyway) one of a kind.—Eric Rangus