The Emory Alumni Association honors a multitalented and accomplished group of young professionals in the 2025 Class of 40 Under Forty. 

Year after year, Emory graduates some of the most impactful young leaders in a broad range of industries. They forge partnerships, solve problems, blaze trails, and serve their communities wherever they may be. The Emory Alumni Association’s 40 Under Forty awards program annually spotlights selected alumni across a variety of vocations for having made a significant impact in business, research, leadership, public service and/or philanthropic endeavors. Our 2025 winners were selected from hundreds of nominees, representing the very best in achievement and service across the diverse and influential Emory alumni community, 
including:

Loron Benton
Assistant Professor in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of South Carolina

“Our 40 Under Forty honorees exemplify the ambition, accomplishments, and impact that define Emory alumni,” says John Jordak 93L, P27, P28, President of the Emory Alumni Board. “Each individual in this year’s class demonstrates how an Emory education  empowers our alumni to lead, innovate, serve, and inspire. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the positive change they bring to their communities and professions.”

The winners will be honored in a special section in the Winter 2025 edition of Emory 
Magazine. To see the full slate of awardees, please visit https://together.emory.edu/alumni/awards/40-under-forty.

Dr. Benton's honoree page reads as follows: 

Loron Benton 07C is an assistant professor in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. A dedicated educator with more than 15 years of experience, she creates learning environments that are both inclusive and transformative.

After earning a degree in English and women’s studies at Emory, Benton began her career as a middle school reading teacher. She completed a master’s degree in women’s studies at Georgia State University, where she received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award. She went on to earn a PhD in gender studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her most recent article, “Dripping in Molasses: Black Feminist Nostalgia and Kara Walker’s A Subtlety,” appears in Cultural Studies Journal. Benton has been recognized as a Mellon Fellow at Case Western Reserve University and as an inaugural Bridge to Faculty Scholar at the University of South Carolina.

Her research focuses on Black women’s cultural production and political traditions in the 20th and 21st centuries, feminist theory, womanist theology, and studies of pleasure and joy — interests first nurtured during her time at Emory.