James W. Wagner, PhD, an award-winning teacher and scientist, served as president of Emory University from 2003 to 2016. Born and reared in Maryland, he earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1975 from the University of Delaware and a master's degree in clinical engineering in 1978 from The Johns Hopkins University. In 1984 he completed his PhD degree in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins. Following a distinguished tenure on the faculty of Johns Hopkins, he served as dean, provost, and interim president of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Wagner is a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. As president of Emory, he set in motion a campus-wide initiative to develop a clear vision statement, launched a ten-year strategic plan, and led a $1.7 billion fundraising campaign, the largest in Emory's history. In 2009, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as vice chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Emory University President Emeritus James W. Wagner collects eighteen speeches and essays that set out his view of liberal arts education, its hoped-for effects on the lives and characters of students, and his perception of the university campus as a place where passionately opposed points of view can be discussed and debated productively, resulting in greater self-understanding and a positive impact on society. Included are a selection of his baccalaureate addresses to Emory graduating classes; columns published in Emory Magazine and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and addresses delivered at the National Press Club, the Twentieth Annual Forum of National Ethics Councils, and the University of Delaware, Dr. Wagner's alma mater. Themes include understanding the college campus as a place uniquely situated to hold difficult conversations; the importance of the liberal arts in American society, including an argument that inquiry-driven engineering should be understood as one of the liberal arts; and his understanding of collegiate education as a means of shaping moral character and authentic personal identity. A foreword by former U.S. President (and University Distinguished Professor) Jimmy Carter notes a shared interest between himself and President Wagner in international health, leading to Emory's formation of the Institute for Developing Nations and the Emory Global Health Institute. Carter adds that Wagner "committed himself to building an academic community that met and resolved the most challenging issues. I especially appreciated his support of what he calls 'impossible conversations'-conversations that people typically avoid because of the discomfort they bring. I agree that a great university must be engaged in fostering and, indeed, requiring such conversations. With these and other insights, Jim provides us much to consider."