Dr. James Roark, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of American History, will retire at the end of the semester after 33 years at Emory. A specialist in the 18th and 19th century history of the American South, Roark has served as department chair twice and has authored or coauthored numerous works. They include Masters Without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and Reconstruction (1977), Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South (1986), and The American Promise, which is about to release its 7th edition.