THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 2, 1993

PRESIDENT NAMES JAMES LANEY AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA

(Washington, DC) President Clinton announced today that he intends to nominate James T. Laney, the President of Emory University, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.

"As I prepare for my visit to Seoul next week, I am very pleased to make this announcement," said the President. "James Laney is a greatly admired scholar and leader with an understanding and respect for Korea based on more than 45 years experience with the country. He will make an outstanding Ambassador."

Laney has been Emory's President since 1977, during which time the University has grown into a major university with one of the largest endowments in the country. Before becoming President, Laney spent eight years at Emory as dean of the Candler School of Theology. He had previously held teaching positions at Vanderbilt and Harvard.

An Arkansas native, Laney first traveled to Korea in 1947- 48 as a member of the U.S. Army. He then returned in 1959 to teach at Yonsei University, where he remained for five years. He has maintained close ties to the country over the years, and has returned frequently to lecture and visit.

In addition to his responsibilities at Emory, Laney has served as chairman of the Harvard Board of Overseers Committee to Visit the Divinity School. Currently, he chairs the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Yale University Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a trustee of the Henry Luce Foundation, the National Humanities Center, the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and the Atlantic Council of the United States. He is also a director of the Coca-Cola Company and the Trust Company of Georgia.

Laney holds his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale, and is an ordained United Methodist minister. He and his wife, the former Berta Radford, have five children and fourteen grandchildren.

# # #