Robert M. Franklin

Robert M. Franklin, PhD, is president-emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, having served from 2007 to 2012. Robert is currently a senior advisor to the president of Emory University and is the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory. Previously, he was the director of the interfaith religion department at Chautauqua Institution (2013-2017) and a visiting scholar at Stanford University (2013). He is also a presidential fellow for the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College.

He is the author of four books, including his recently released, Moral Leadership: Integrity, Courage, Imagination (2020).  He has provided commentaries for National Public Radio’s, “All Things Considered,” and televised commentary for Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasting.  Educated at Morehouse College (BA), Harvard Divinity School (M.Div.) and the University of Chicago Divinity School (PhD).  Robert is the recipient of honorary degrees from Bethune-Cookman University, Ursinus College, Bates College, Hampden-Sydney, Centre College, University of New England, and Swarthmore College. 

Bob is a member of several organizations including PathNorth (Washington, DC), Public Broadcasting of Atlanta, a past board member of “Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action” (New York), and currently serves on the board of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He is married to Dr. Cheryl Goffney Franklin, a gynecologist at Morehouse Healthcare. They have three children.