Candler Dean Jan Love awarded two Dean’s Medals in 2023, recognizing The Rev. Canon P. Lang Lowrey III 04T and Dr. Walker Ray 62C 65M 68MR for their remarkable commitment and contributions to the school. The highest honor the dean of Candler can bestow, the Dean’s Medal is reserved for those whose efforts on the school’s behalf have had a transformative effect. Only 25 individuals have received the award.
Lang Lowrey was honored for his guidance of Episcopal and Anglican Studies at Candler while he served as program director from 2015 to 2023. Lowrey widened the scope of the program, adding “Anglican” to the name to reflect the breadth of the Anglican communion. During his tenure, the number of Episcopal and Anglican students at Candler grew significantly, even as their enrollment fell at theological schools across North America. In addition, Dean Love commended Lowrey for cultivating closer relationships between Candler and Episcopal dioceses in the region—particularly the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta—and with other influential Episcopal institutions, as well as recruiting new leaders to serve on the Episcopal and Anglican Studies Program advisory board. “At a critical time in the life of Episcopal studies at Candler, Lang breathed new life into the program,” Love says.
Walker Ray was honored for his longtime dedication to Candler’s Committee of 100 advisory board. Ray has served as chair of the Committee of 100 for more than 15 years, only missing one meeting during that time. Ray and his wife, Nancy, are stalwart supporters of Candler’s Fund for Excellence, as well as Pitts Theology Library’s Kessler Reformation Collection. In addition to his service to Candler, Ray has served on the board of the Emory Medical Association and the Emory Alumni Board. He earned the university’s J. Pollard Turman Alumni Service Award in 2011. Says Love, “Walker’s commitment to our mission and support of our students has been transformational.”
During her 17 years as Candler’s dean, Love has bestowed the Dean’s Medal 11 times. Recipients include artist John August Swanson, Bishop Woodie W. White, and Dr. Rebecca Chopp, among others.