richey-holifield.jpgCandler School of Theology is honoring two distinguished retired faculty members with emeritus status. Russell E. Richey was appointed Dean Emeritus of Candler School of Theology, and E. Brooks Holifield was appointed Emeritus Professor of American Church History. Richey and Holifield retired in the spring of 2011 with a combined 82 years of research, writing, and teaching between them.

“In Russell Richey, we had a dean who strengthened our school’s ties to The United Methodist Church, supported other denominational ministries, and fostered new relationships with the departments and schools of Emory University,” says Candler Dean Jan Love. “In Brooks Holifield, we had a professor who did more than teach – he inspired hundreds of students in their callings to the church and the academy. These two scholars are certainly deserving of special recognition for their service.”

Richey, William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Church History, served as dean of Candler School of Theology from 2000 to 2006. He is also a renowned scholar of Methodism who has authored, co-authored or co-edited some 20 books, including 2010’s The Methodist Experience in America: A History.

Holifield came to Candler School of Theology as a professor in 1970, and in the ensuing decades received nearly every prize offered by Candler and Emory for teaching and scholarship. He authored more than 175 scholarly articles, book reviews, and dictionary and encyclopedia entries on topics related to American religious history as well as seven books, the most recent being God’s Ambassadors: A History of Christian Clergy in America in 2007. In 2011, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.