Sheth Distinguished Lecture

The Sheth Distinguished Lecture features outstanding speakers and is named in honor of Dr. Jagdish and Mrs. Madhuri Sheth, whose generous donation made this annual event possible.

Since 2004, a speaker of outstanding quality is invited to present during a lunch attended by emeriti, active faculty, and others with a special interest in the topic. The speaker is selected and invited by Emeritus College’s Teaching and Lecturing Committee, which also hosts the event. Jagdish Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Goizueta Business School.

2025 Sheth Lecture

“Mapping the Field of Law and Religion”

John Witte Jr., Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law, McDonald Distinguished Professor of Religion, Emory School of Law

In 2024, the editors of a new book of essays published in John Witte’s honor commented on his far-reaching impact, especially since his arrival at Emory in 1985: “For several decades, the work of John Witte Jr. as scholar, teacher, public lecturer, and project leader has been among the most influential in the English-speaking world in the field of law and religion in general, and in the study of law and Christianity in particular.”

For the Sheth Distinguished Lecture, Witte will describe his personal evolution as a scholar and the role of law and religion as it has shaped legal systems and religious practices worldwide. He also will offer perspective on Emory’s own growth since the founding of its program in law and religion in 1982, at the time a novel and daring institutional direction not only for Emory but also for US legal education in general.

Witte (DrTheol, h.c., Heidelberg; JD, Harvard; BA, Calvin College) is author of more than 300 articles, 18 journal symposia, and 45 books on legal history, human rights, religious freedom, marriage and family law, and law and religion. His writings have appeared in 15 languages, and he has delivered more than 350 public lectures worldwide. With $27 million raised from the Pew, Ford, Lilly, Luce, and McDonald foundations and other benefactors, he has directed 20 major international projects on democracy, human rights, and religious liberty; on marriage, family, and children; and on law and religion.

He has been selected 12 times by the Emory law students as the Most Outstanding Professor and has won dozens of other awards and prizes for his teaching and research. Witte is married to Eliza Ellison, a theologian and mediator. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.

Past Speakers

Where available, you can watch lecture videos by clicking on the name of the speaker.

  • 2024: Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School  
  • 2023: Hank Klibanoff, Professor of Practice, Emory College
  • 2022: Jamil Zainaldin, President Emeritus, Georgia Humanities Council
  • 2021: Robert Franklin, James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership, Candler School of Theology
  • 2020: Rosemary Magee, Former Director, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
  • 2019: Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory School of Law
  • 2018: Dana Greene, Dean Emerita, Oxford College of Emory University
  • 2017: Dennis Lockhart, Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
  • 2016: James Curran, Professor of Epidemiology and Dean, Rollins School of Public Health
  • 2015: Brenda Bynum, Former Resident Artist and member of the Emory College Department of Theater Studies and an actor and director in Atlanta since 1973, primarily at the Alliance Theater
  • 2014: Don E. Saliers, William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship Emeritus and a theologian specializing in homiletics and liturgics. He retired from Emory University in 2007
  • 2013: Mike Luckovich, Editorial Cartoonist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (1995, 2006).
  • 2012: Robert Spano, Former Emory University Distinguished Artist in Residence and Music Director Laureate for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
  • 2011: Robert Paul, Former Dean, Emory College, Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies
  • 2010: Elizabeth Kiss, Eighth President of Agnes Scott College, Founding Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
  • 2009: Natasha Trethewey, Former Professor of English and Phillis Wheatley Distinguished Chair at Emory, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, and US Poet Laureate (2012–2014)
  • 2008: Susan Allen, Professor of Global Health at Rollins School of Public Health, Founder and Director of the Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group
  • 2007: Frans de Waal, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Emory, Director of the Living Links at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center
  • 2006: Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and founder of the Carter Center
  • 2005: William Foege, Rollins School of Public Health Professor Emeritus, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, and Health Policy Fellow and former Executive Director of the Carter Center
  • 2004: James T. Laney, Emory University President Emeritus and former US ambassador to South Korea