Chris Morphew, a collaborative and enterprising leader who has helped firmly establish the Johns Hopkins University School of Education as one of the nation's top graduate schools of education during his eight years as dean, will step down from his role at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
Morphew, the son of two lifelong elementary school teachers, joined the university in 2017 from the University of Iowa College of Education. At Hopkins, he has led the School of Education through a period of considerable progress and significant transformation, expanding the school's faculty and academic offerings, strengthening its connections to the Baltimore community, and directing research, policy, and practice to some of the nation's most pressing education problems, including chronic absenteeism, school choice, and the impact of artificial intelligence on learning.
Image caption: Chris Morphew
Morphew announced his plans today during a town hall conversation with the School of Education community. Details on a search to identify his successor will be shared in the near future.
"Chris's leadership has been marked by a commitment to academic excellence and the continued strengthening of the school's scholarly core," JHU President Ron Daniels and Provost Ray Jayawardhana wrote in a message to the university community today.
"Equally central to his leadership has been a deep commitment to students and to Baltimore."
Among his many accomplishments, Morphew established the School of Education's first tenure process, a structure that supports faculty excellence, elevates the school's academic and research profile, and aids the recruitment of top faculty and students. The school has added more than 20 faculty members during Morphew's tenure, including two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors and the school's first three endowed professorships, as well as several new master's programs designed to meet the evolving needs of education professionals around the globe. During Morphew's tenure, international enrollment at the school has increased by more than 400%.
Morphew's signature achievements as dean include the 2019 launch of the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, which brings together scholars from across the university to shape evidence-based policies on student health, safety, and well-being. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, School of Education experts partnered with colleagues at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the School of Medicine, and the Berman Institute of Bioethics to create the eSchool+ Initiative, which provided critical guidance to K–12 schools on reopening safely and equitably.
Morphew's tenure saw an enhancement of support for School of Education students, including a transformative gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies—the largest gift in the school's history—which expanded financial aid for the Doctor of Education program. He also secured philanthropic support for a major renovation and transformation of the school's historic building on Charles Street, a project designed to modernize the space and boost connectedness among faculty, staff, and students. The building will reopen in 2026.
In Baltimore, Morphew has helped the school deepen its ties to the city and community, including through school partnerships, the Henderson-Hopkins School in East Baltimore, and the Vision for Baltimore program, a partnership with the Wilmer Eye Institute and the City of Baltimore that provides vision care services to elementary and middle school students across the city. The program has distributed nearly 20,000 free pairs of eyeglasses since its launch in 2016. Another initiative launched during Morphew's tenure, Proven Tutoring, has placed more than 325,000 mentors and tutors in schools across the country since its launch in 2021.
"Serving in this role has been the greatest professional privilege of my career," Morphew said, "and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such talented and dedicated faculty and staff, undertaking impactful research, serving passionate students, and making a difference in so many communities.
"Education is the foundation of our country—empowering students to reach their dreams, communities to thrive, and democratic society to flourish. The Johns Hopkins School of Education is the premier home to the education data, solutions, and partnerships that improve lives for millions across the globe, and I am confident the School of Education is positioned for even greater impact in the years ahead. My optimism comes from my knowledge of our community—the innovation, dedication, and expertise they bring to their work each day in rigorous pursuit of excellence today, and bold advancement toward tomorrow."
