Robert Spano, the music director for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has been named a "distinguished artist in residence" at Emory University, college officials announced Tuesday.

Spano will teach seminars and lectures and present programs on a variety of topics, including musicology, for three weeks during the spring semesters of 2010-2012. His residency is scheduled to being March 28.

Spano also will hold a series of lectures and concerts open to the public.

Other people to hold similar roles at Emory include the Dalai Lama and author Salman Rushdie.