The Goodrich C. White Professor of American Studies at Emory University, Rudolph Byrd began his academic career at Carleton College where he was a member of the Department of English and Chair of the Program of African and African American Studies. He joined the faculty of Emory University in 1991 and is the founding director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, established in 2007. Named for James Weldon Johnson, author, composer, educator, lawyer, diplomat, and pioneering leader in the modern civil rights movement, the Johnson Institute is the first institute at Emory University established to honor the achievements of an American of African descent. An engaged scholar committed to service and scholarship at the local and national levels, Byrd is also a consultant to the United Negro College Fund/Andrew W. Mellon Programs. The title of his presentation was "Regarding James Weldon Johnson."