Announcing Oxford College’s Interim Dean

Dear Oxford Community,

We write to announce that Molly McGehee, senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor of English and American Studies, has been selected as the interim dean of Oxford College. She will begin November 1, 2025, when Dean Badia Ahad assumes the role of provost of Emory University.

Dr. McGehee will provide steady leadership during this period of transition while a national search for a permanent dean will begin in the summer of 2026, following the selection of a search firm and appointment of a search advisory committee. A formal announcement will be circulated to the broader Emory community shortly and shared in Emory Report this afternoon.

Dr. McGehee brings to this position a distinguished record of teaching excellence, scholarly achievement and dedicated service to Oxford College. An alumna of Emory University, she joined Oxford in 2014 as an associate professor of English and swiftly assumed administrative responsibilities to focus on faculty development, scholarship and strategic initiatives.

Consistently recognized for her exceptional commitment to teaching, Dr. McGehee has received numerous honors, the most recent being the 2024 Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award—Emory’s highest faculty honor. Her courses span visual culture, African American literature, Southern women's writing and first-year writing, and she has enriched students' educational experiences through international and domestic travel courses to Japan, England, Hawaii, France and throughout the South.

As a scholar, Dr. McGehee has made significant contributions to American Studies and Southern literature, and her work has appeared in leading journals and edited collections. Her current book project, Atlanta Fictions: Women Writers' Urban Imaginaries, explores representations of Atlanta in modern and contemporary fiction. Beyond her own research, she has served the profession with distinction, including as the former president of the Southern American Studies Association.

We are confident Dr. McGehee's deep knowledge of Oxford College, her collaborative leadership style and her unwavering dedication to our students and faculty will serve us well in this role. We look forward to working with her as we continue to advance Oxford's distinctive and vibrant academic community.

Lanny S. Liebeskind 
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Badia Ahad
Dean, Oxford College of Emory University
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (effective Nov. 1)