Rev. Robert Franklin, Emory University Senior Advisor and President Emeritus of Morehouse College, Joins CDC Foundation Board of Directors

Rev. Robert Michael Franklin, PhD, president emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta and senior advisor to the president of Emory University, has been elected to a five-year term on the board of directors of the CDC Foundation. In this role, Franklin will join other board members to provide guidance and oversight to the CDC Foundation, which is the independent nonprofit created by Congress to mobilize philanthropic and private-sector resources to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) critical health protection work.

Franklin holds the James T. and Berta R. Laney Chair in Moral Leadership at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In this role Franklin challenges students to explore the concept of moral leadership in the 21st century in different cultures and contexts in the United States and around the world. Franklin serves as a senior advisor to the Emory University president, as well as for Community and Diversity at Emory. He is a former presidential distinguished professor of Social Ethics and a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, both at Emory. In addition, he was the founding director of Candler School of Theology’s Black Church Studies program, which prepares men and women to provide learned, prophetic and compassionate leadership in Black and multiracial churches.

“Robert is an impassioned educator, theologian and leader,” said Judy Monroe, MD, president and chief executive officer of the CDC Foundation. “I welcome his experience and value the insights and perspectives he will bring to our board, including his guidance on the path toward health equity for people in the United States and across the globe.”

Prior to his time at Emory University, Franklin was director of the religion department at The Chautauqua Institution, president of Morehouse College and president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. Franklin was named to the Human Rights Campaign’s project council on expanding LGBTQ equality and inclusion efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He serves on the board of the Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey and the HomeFirst Community Oversight Board in Atlanta. He is a past board member of several civic organizations, including the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Falcons Community Advisory Board and Public Broadcasting of Atlanta.

Franklin, who is one of the nation’s foremost public theologians, is the author of four books including his latest book titled “Moral Leadership: Integrity, Courage and Imagination” as well as the author of several book chapters and articles.

Franklin earned a B.A. degree from Morehouse College and was a Union Scholar at Durham University in the United Kingdom. He received a Master’s in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Doctorate in Divinity from the University of Chicago. He holds honorary degrees from Bethune Cookman University, Ursinus College, Bates College, Hampden-Sydney College, Centre College, University of New England and Swarthmore College.