For Johns Hopkins and alumnus Bloomberg, a close relationship focused on improving education

A Sunday New York Times article examines the close relationship between Johns Hopkins and one of its most accomplished alumni, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The article comes as the university announces Bloomberg's most recent gift to the university: $350 million for financial aid and a transformative academic initiative. According to the New York Times:

The timing of his latest donation, as the mayor's third term draws to a close, offers a glimpse of the sky-is-the-limit philanthropy that he and his aides say is likely to dominate his life after City Hall. The mayor, who is 70, has pledged to give away all of his $25 billion fortune before he dies, and he has built up a foundation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to carry out the task. At the same time, the donations highlight the unusually close relationship between Mr. Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins, which, interviews show, has played an unseen role in several of his biggest undertakings as mayor. In an interview here, Mr. Bloomberg said he was making his donations public to encourage greater charitable giving toward education. He lamented, "In our society, we are defunding education."

Read more from New York Times