Johns Hopkins University's board of trustees has voted to renew the contract of President Ronald J. Daniels, keeping him at the helm of the nation's first research university for another five years. The unanimous board action today signaled a strong and clear endorsement for Daniels, who has been instrumental in leading and advancing the mission of the university.
Image caption: President Ronald J. Daniels
The reappointment, announced by board chairman Jeffrey H. Aronson, extends Daniels' contract to 2019.
"We selected Ron Daniels as Johns Hopkins' 14th president because we saw in him a leader who would challenge us in new ways, build upon our tremendous strengths, and develop a lasting consensus for what Johns Hopkins can, should, and will be in the 21st century," Aronson said.
Michael R. Bloomberg, an alumnus and former university board chair, lauded President Daniels as a visionary and courageous leader.
"He has put a premium on an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to solving fundamental societal problems," Bloomberg said. "He has reinforced the university's capacity for tackling those problems through groundbreaking research. And he has enhanced undergraduate, graduate, and professional education. At the same time, he has strengthened student support to make Johns Hopkins education possible for those who might otherwise not be able to afford it."
Daniels was elected president in November 2008 and took office the following March. Early in his tenure, he laid out three themes to his presidency: fostering individual excellence, enhancing collaboration across schools and disciplines, and strengthening the university's commitment to its communities.
"I am extremely grateful to the board of trustees for asking me to continue leading this extraordinary institution and for the opportunity to work with so many wonderful and talented individuals," Daniels said. "Every day, I am inspired and humbled by the passion, dedication, and commitment of our faculty and by the accomplishments of our students, staff, alumni, and friends around the globe. This university is built on a tradition of daring and excellence. As we embark on the next five years, it is my privilege to honor that tradition and my goal to support the women and men of Johns Hopkins as they strive for even greater impact and achievement."
Much of Daniels' work has been guided by a vision developed through conversations with faculty, students, staff, alumni, deans, trustees, and members of the Baltimore community. The result of those conversations, the Ten by Twenty, outlines a set of priorities for the university through the remainder of the decade.
The goals of the Ten by Twenty will be advanced by Rising to the Challenge, the institution's largest fundraising campaign, aimed at raising $4.5 billion by 2017 to fund discovery and scholarship, advance health, identify innovative solutions to global problems, and bolster support for students and faculty. The campaign, which began quietly in early 2010, has raised more than $2.37 billion, reaching its halfway goal ahead of schedule.
Gifts and pledges include the largest gift ever to Johns Hopkins, $350 million from former New York City Mayor Bloomberg. Of that, $250 million will endow chairs for 50 new Bloomberg Distinguished Professors, leaders in cross-disciplinary, cutting-edge scholarship and research, the largest cohort of its kind to be recruited in North America. Another $100 million from Bloomberg will fund need-based financial aid for undergraduate students.
The Bloomberg Distinguished Professors will anchor a core feature of the campaign, the "signature initiatives" focused on the following themes: American cities, global health, individualized medicine, science of learning, and water.
Through these initiatives and other core priorities, the university is bringing together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students—from the institution's renowned academic medical center to the SAIS global community—to address major societal problems.
"I'm delighted that Ron Daniels will be leading the institution for another five years,'' said David C. Hodgson, managing director of General Atlantic Partners, LLC, who serves as chairman of the Johns Hopkins Medicine board of trustees and vice chair ex officio of the university trustees. "He has been a great partner for Johns Hopkins Medicine as we prepare to tackle our strategic plan. I look forward to working with him for the next five years."
In his tenure, Daniels has invested heavily in people. During this time, the university established 100 new endowed faculty chairs and has become more accessible, increasing undergraduate financial aid 37 percent since 2009 to $68.9 million in 2013. On his watch, the admissions yield rate for undergraduates has increased (from 31 percent to 39 percent), as has the diversity of the freshman class (from 13 percent underrepresented minorities to 21 percent). Other initiatives include introducing seed funding to reimagine gateway science courses across the university and creating summer internships for undergraduates, placing them with nonprofit and government agencies in Baltimore to work on community projects. On the graduate level, the university has augmented financial support for graduate and professional students, created a university-wide PhD Board to oversee doctoral programs and policies, and seeded the PhD Innovation Fund to inspire new approaches to graduate education.
To support faculty, staff, students, and others throughout our community, a number of buildings have opened during his presidency, including the Undergraduate Teaching Labs, the Brody Learning Commons, the Cordish Lacrosse Center, Malone Hall, the Sheikh Zayed Clinical Tower, and the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children's Center.
Daniels has prioritized the university's commitment to its communities, investing millions in neighborhood programs, small businesses and education through the East Baltimore Development Initiative (EBDI) and the Homewood Community Partners Initiative (HCPI).
Over the past five years, Hopkins has more than doubled its financial commitment to EBDI, supporting projects across the community, from helping to renovate a historic market to attracting national retailers such as Walgreens. Additionally, Johns Hopkins has provided significant leadership and support for the Henderson-Hopkins School, the first new public school building to open in East Baltimore in more than 20 years.
Through HCPI, a collaborative venture launched two years ago, the university committed $10 million, which has leveraged another $10 million. With its community partners, Johns Hopkins supported major renovations at two elementary schools near the Homewood campus and, elsewhere in the HCPI footprint, is collaborating with the Maryland Institute College of Art to create an undergraduate film program.
Daniels' administration is also rolling out new goals for hiring and promoting Baltimore City residents and for making purchases from local businesses and those owned by women and minorities.
Aronson said that in these key areas and others, including innovation, diversity, sustainability, employee support, and outreach to alumni at home and around the globe, President Daniels has worked closely with the board of trustees, the deans, his administrative colleagues, faculty, students, and the entire Johns Hopkins community.
"Together, and under his leadership, we have made tremendous progress," Aronson said. "I am confident that our future looks even brighter thanks to the continued commitment of President Daniels and the extraordinary leadership team he has assembled."
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