Atlanta, GA — Here’s a look at business news in our community.

— Gareth James was named dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Here is the full press release:

(ATLANTA – February 14, 2022) – Emory University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Ravi V. Bellamkonda has announced Gareth James as the next dean of Goizueta Business School.

James comes to Emory from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, where he serves as deputy dean, E. Morgan Stanley Chair in Business Administration and professor of data sciences and operations. James will take up the deanship July 1.

“Dr. James is a demonstrated leader with the vision and experience to elevate the Goizueta Business School to even greater heights of success,” says President Gregory L. Fenves. “The future of business education and scholarship touches all aspects of our lives, the way we work, and how we create opportunities for the future. Dr. James understands that preparing business leaders requires a broad set of skills that are informed by impactful research, as well as real-life experiences in a complex, interconnected economy. Atlanta is home to some of the most dynamic and diverse businesses in the nation, and I look forward to seeing Dr. James deepen Emory’s partnerships like never before.”

James is keen to begin his work at Goizueta, noting, “Emory and Goizueta have impressive ambitions to become even stronger institutions. I’m looking forward to working with President Fenves, Provost Bellamkonda and our faculty, staff and students to transform that ambition into a reality. I’m also excited to be at a school whose very name represents an important legacy for both Emory and the Atlanta region.”

“Dr. James has an excellent grasp of our strengths, understands our desires and ambitions for the school, and has plans to realize them. We’re thrilled to have someone of his caliber advance the teaching and research missions of Goizueta,” Bellamkonda says. “Chosen from an extraordinary pool of candidates, Dr. James stood out as a proven leader who uses data-driven decision-making, has an affable leadership style and a great sense of humor, and is as ambitious for Goizueta as we are.”

During his time at the Marshall School of Business, James has most recently served as interim dean (2019-2020), during which he led the school’s COVID-19 response, and deputy dean (2020-2022), a position created to retain him at school-level leadership; he has also served as vice dean of faculty.

A statistician by training and a New Zealander by birth, James graduated from Stanford University with a PhD in statistics in 1998 after receiving a Fulbright Scholarship in 1994. Prior to that, he studied at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where he earned bachelor of science and bachelor of commerce degrees.

James has been an active scholar, authoring numerous journal and discussion articles, books, conference proceedings and book chapters. In particular, he has published extensively in the areas of functional data analysis and high dimensional statistics. His work has been cited approximately 20,000 times. In fact, just in the period since COVID hit he has published six top-tier journal articles along with the second edition of his highly successful co-authored textbook, An Introduction to Statistical Learning. James has acted as the PI or co-PI on several National Science Foundation research grants and has served as an associate editor for five top research journals. He has won two Dean’s Research Awards, and is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

James is also a superb teacher and mentor. In addition to the Evan C. Thompson Faculty Teaching and Learning Innovation award, he has won Marshall’s Golden Apple for best instructor in the full time MBA program three times. He has also been awarded Marshall and USC’s highest honors for mentoring junior colleagues and graduate students, including the Dean’s Ph.D. Advising, USC Mellon, Evan C. Thompson and Provost’s Mentoring awards.

— Delta Community Credit Union has announced it is seeking applicants for its annual scholarship program.

Five applicants will be awarded a total of $25,000 based on their academic achievement, community involvement and submission of an essay. Applications must be submitted by March 5 at midnight and recipients will be announced on April 8.

Here is the full press release:

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2022) – Delta Community Credit Union (www.DeltaCommunityCU.com), Georgia’s largest credit union with $9 billion in assets, announces a call for entries in its annual scholarship program. Five applicants will be awarded a total of $25,000 based on each applicant’s academic achievement, community involvement and submission of an essay on this topic:

“Delta Community’s annual Scholarship Program underscores the value we place on financial literacy, which is key to empowering successful individuals, families and communities,” said Hank Halter, Delta Community CEO. “Given the ongoing public-health challenges faced by students, nationwide, we are especially excited to offer this financial support to motivated students, so they may fully concentrate on their academic and career success.”

The Delta Community Scholarship Program is open to students seeking a first undergraduate degree, and awards may be used to fund tuition, books, housing and other expenses.

Applications must be received between Feb. 1 and March 1, 2022 by 11:59 p.m. ET and recipients will be announced by April 8, 2022.

Applicants must be Delta Community members who are enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university in the United States during the fall semester of the 2022 – 2023 academic year. For more information and to apply, visit Delta Community Credit Union 2022 Scholarship Program.

In addition to two scholarship programs, the Credit Union offers hundreds of free classes through its award-winning Financial Education Center; school sponsorships; and free workshops in community organizations throughout metro Atlanta.

SJC Ventures welcomes Diane Lidz as the new general counsel and senior vice president. Photo courtesy of SJC Ventures.

— SJC Ventures welcomes Diane Lidz as the new general counsel and senior vice president of the Atlanta-based mixed-use, grocery-anchored retail and multi-family development firm. 

Here is the full announcement:

ATLANTA, Ga. – SJC Ventures, a premier Atlanta-based mixed-use, grocery-anchored retail and multi-family development firm, recently welcomed Diane Lidz as its new general counsel and senior vice president.

Lidz brings more than 30 years of experience in representing clients in commercial real estate transactions and will be the first team member to fill the general counsel role at the development firm.

In her new role as general counsel and senior vice president, Lidz will manage outside counsel, lead transaction closings and manage litigation and loan reporting, among other duties.

Most recently, she served as counsel at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein. During her time there, she advised on the purchase, sale and development of land and income-producing properties, represented retail developers in acquisition and sales transactions and advised landlords and tenants of various sizes in ground lease and space lease transactions. Prior to that, Lidz was a commercial real estate partner with Hartman Simons & Wood. She also spent 17 years with Troutman Pepper, formerly, Troutman Sanders.

“As our company continues to grow, we are thrilled to add someone like Diane to our team,” said Jeff DeHart, principal at SJC Ventures. “She is a demonstrated problem-solver who truly invests the time in understanding her clients and listening to their specific needs.”

Lidz graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Williams College and was awarded a juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law. She currently serves in various leadership roles with CREW Atlanta and as counsel for the Board of Trustees for Temple Kol Emeth.

— Emory cardiologist Dr. Laurence Sperling helped U.S. News and World Report create and release its 2022 best diets lists.

For the last 11 years, Sperling has shared his experties while ranking some of the most popular diets, according to a press release.

Sperling is the Katz Professor in preventive cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine and founder of the Emory Center for Heart Disease Prevention. He has served on the panel of health experts for U.S. News & World Report since 2011.

He and 26 other experts in diet, nutrition, obesity, diabetes and heart disease reviewed 40 diets, ranking them in seven categories.

“The top-ranking diets are considered easy to follow, nutritious, safe and effective for weight loss and preventing diabetes and heart disease,” Sperling said. “We all have individual goals for healthy eating as we consider our dietary patterns as a component of our lives. This list is a good resource to help guide the process of finding a diet that people can practice and, more importantly, maintain over time as part of a larger, healthier lifestyle.”

Sperling notes to watch out for “fad” diets and focus more on a healthy dietary pattern. “The word diet comes from the Greek derivation, ‘diaita’ which means a way of life,” he said.

As we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, Sperling added that COVID-19 has had an impact on diets and general health and well-being.

“There have been concerning challenges for many regarding maintaining healthy behaviors during the pandemic,” says Sperling. “COVID-19 has had an impact on diets, weight, exercise, mental health and more. We are living during challenging times as we embark upon the third year of the pandemic, and being mindful of these challenges can help us reassess and rebalance our health priorities as we begin a new year.”