On Feb. 17, University President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Robert Lieberman named Peter Agre, Kathryn Edin and Carol Greider as the first of 50 Bloomberg Distinguished Professors.
In an email to students, Daniels and Lieberman expressed their excitement.
“We are absolutely delighted today to announce the first three appointments to those prestigious endowed chairs,” Daniels and Lieberman wrote.
A year ago, alumnus and former Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg donated $350 million to the University, part of which is earmarked for 50 new Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships (BDPs).
These professors will each serve as leaders in their specific departments to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration across the entire University.
Agre, a current professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the School of Public Health and co-winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will now anchor the departments of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine and Biological Chemistry, spanning the public health and medical schools.
“My first reaction was of awe when the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship program was first announced,” Agre wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “What an incredible act of generosity by Mr. Bloomberg to make such an important gift to his alma mater 50 years after graduation. 50 world-class scholars will become BDPs on our campuses. My second reaction was of humility when I was informed that I will receive a Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship.”
Edin, previously a professor of public policy and management at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a position she had held since 2007, is noted for her books detailing how single mothers make ends meet, why poor women prioritize motherhood before marriage and how economic and cultural changes have altered the role of fathers among the inner-city poor.
At Hopkins, Edin will become a leader in the Institute for the American City and teach in both the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Public Health.
Greider, currently the director of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins Medicine, was appointed the new title in the molecular biology and genetics departments in the School of Medicine and in the biology department in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Greider was the co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
According to President Daniels, the selection process for the appointments focused on the candidates’ academic merits as well as their potential to collaborate.
“Bloomberg Distinguished Professors must be exceptional scholars and teachers. They must be ready, willing and able to contribute significantly to collaborative, cross-disciplinary scholarship and education. And their academic background must make them suitable for appointment to be on the faculties of more than one of our schools,” Lieberman said.
In their email to the student body, Daniels and Lieberman also linked the Bloomberg Professorships to the University’s Ten by Twenty plan for the future and, specifically, the “One University” initiative to promote interdisciplinary research and to combat current complex issues.
“What is new, however, is the complexity of the issues that humanity faces in the 21st century,” Daniels and Lieberman wrote. “What is new is the breadth and depth of the knowledge that must be leveled against those complex problems. And what is new is an absolute dedication, from the faculty, deans, university administration, and loyal supporters of Johns Hopkins, to make collaboration across disciplinary and divisional borders less occasional and more standard operating procedure.”
Agre, who has been associated with Hopkins for 35 years, feels that the new appointments are reinforcements of the already strong dedication to collaborative research at the University.
“From my view, Johns Hopkins has always been a very special place. One where you can hear yourself think but where you are also welcomed by others to discuss ideas and even to collaborate. I sincerely hope this does not change, but I also hope that now, as one of the Johns Hopkins elders, I can inspire our young learners to make the most of their opportunities throughout the university.”
Hopkins students and faculty can look forward to hearing about many more new appointments in the future as the other 47 posts are filled.
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