Tom Lewis, vice president for government and community affairs for Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, will retire after spending more than 16 years strengthening the relationships between Johns Hopkins and the surrounding communities.
"Combining peerless experience in Maryland government, politics, and community affairs with a passion for our institutions, Tom has advanced our missions of research, education, and service in countless ways, and his friendship and collegiality will be missed," JHU President Ronald J. Daniels, Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO and Dean of the Medical Faculty Paul B. Rothman, and Johns Hopkins Health System President and Executive Vice President for Johns Hopkins Medicine Kevin Sowers wrote in a message announcing Lewis' retirement.
Image caption: Tom Lewis
Lewis came to Johns Hopkins in 2005 as director of State Affairs in a newly consolidated office spanning Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, and he became vice president four years later. He made an immediate impact helping lawmakers in Annapolis to see the importance of providing state support to capital projects at Johns Hopkins as part of a broader strategy to boost Maryland's economic development and intellectual capital. Among his accomplishments were securing state funding for new clinical buildings in East Baltimore; gaining funding support for the Maryland Advanced Research Computing Center, which vastly increased the capacity for researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, College Park to undertake cutting-edge big data projects; and partnering with Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures to win state support for the Maryland Center for Cell Therapy Manufacturing in East Baltimore.
Just this year, Lewis was instrumental in securing full funding for the state's Sellinger Program, which supports independent colleges and universities in Maryland, providing additional for support Maryland residents who attend Johns Hopkins.
A hallmark of his leadership has been his effort to bring Johns Hopkins expertise to bear on the challenges facing the state and Baltimore community, bringing the world class Johns Hopkins faculty to the Statehouse to testify on health care policy or advocating on behalf students to ensure they have access to quality health insurance. For the last 15 months, Lewis and his team have done extraordinary work to develop the public-private partnership that coordinated Baltimore's COVID-19 response during the pandemic.
"It is no exaggeration to say that their efforts to put public health information and resources in the hands of our neighbors helped save lives," added medicine and university leaders.
Before joining Hopkins, Lewis served for 11 years as chief of staff to two speakers of the House of Delegates, Casper R. Taylor Jr. and Michael E. Busch. Before that, he was counsel to both the House Economic Matters and Environmental Matters committees, allowing him to play an integral role in the development of some of the most important policies and laws protecting the environment, fostering excellence in public schools, and expanding access to health care.
His last day at Johns Hopkins will be June 30, and Jeanne Hitchcock will lead Government and Community Affairs in an interim capacity while a search is conducted.
Posted in University News
