Messages

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, On Saturday, before the region began feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy, nearly 1,000 of you turned out for the President’s Day of Service, across Baltimore and beyond. Together, we planted trees and gardens, helped to refurbish buildings and even led workshops for young dance students. For the first time, alumni chapters in four cities also took part in the day, making it a national...

Dear members of the Johns Hopkins and Homewood communities, Three years ago, in my first address to The Johns Hopkins University community, I spoke of a great university that is not only at Baltimore or in Baltimore, but truly and proudly of Baltimore. The campuses of Johns Hopkins and their surrounding communities are and will forever be inextricably linked. Put simply, we share with our neighbors an interest in safer...

Dear Faculty, Students and Staff, Two weeks ago, my wife, Joanne, and I officially became empty nesters after dropping our fourth child off for her first year of college. In the weeks prior, my daughter packed up her room, embarked on countless forays to Bed, Bath & Beyond for the “essentials” of dorm life, and spent one summer night after another saying goodbye to her friends as they set out in separate directions....

Dear Faculty, Students and Staff, As I grew up in Toronto, every year, the final weeks of August were marked by the Canadian National Exhibition, a three-week extravaganza of rides, shows and tooth-decaying delights that ended on Labour Day (translation for non-Canadians: Labor Day). As kids, we would dare each other onto progressively bigger, more death-defying roller coasters, and fight with our parents to stay...

Dear Faculty and Staff Members and Students: Johns Hopkins is not just in Baltimore, but also proudly from Baltimore and fiercely devoted to the city’s health and success. You demonstrate that devotion every day. You demonstrate it in the work you do in the community. You demonstrate it in the programs you offer its citizens. You demonstrate it in the unequaled patient care and other services you provide. You demonstrate...

Dear Faculty, Students and Staff, Last month, we marked the passing of Baltimore’s former mayor, William Donald Schaefer. Time and again, those memorializing his life noted his gut-level belief in this city, his tireless vision of a Baltimore that was always more than – better than – it was at that moment. That vision, as I have come to learn, is shared by many Baltimoreans. It marks the spirit of optimism and the...

To the Johns Hopkins community, As we, across the Johns Hopkins community, watched the devastation unleashed by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in northern Japan last week, our hearts went out to the Japanese people and all those affected by the crises. We now watch with concern as the nuclear situation evolves, hoping for a near-term solution that minimizes the impact on an already suffering nation. After coordinating...

Dear Faculty, Students and Staff, Two years ago today, I joined the Johns Hopkins community as your president. While the precise date may be memorable to only a small handful of people — most of them related to me by blood or marriage — it was a momentous event in my life. On the day that I started at Johns Hopkins, I wrote to you to express my commitment to learning the soul of this great university. Since then, I have gained...

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: This past spring, I was pleased to receive a thoughtful and considered report from a multi-constituency task force convened to address how the university could enhance its contributions to the promotion of a sustainable and healthy environment. The report offered a series of recommendations that touched each of our research, education and community engagement missions. It also...

Dear Staff and Faculty Members: Baltimore’s public schools, which are so critical to the future of our city, are embarked on an exciting time of enhanced academic achievement and service to our children. You can help. And Johns Hopkins wants to help you help. As of now, the university is offering eligible staff members up to two days a year of paid leave to spend time working in Baltimore City public schools. And we are...