On April 3, Tuesday, the University introduced the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health (JHIPH) in a University-wide broadcast. The institute is one of the cross-university initiatives that Hopkins has been pursuing as part of the Ten for One Strategic Plan.
The graduate student union, Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), and the University reached a tentative bargaining agreement on Friday, March 29. After almost a year of negotiations, this tentative agreement covers several important articles, including raising the minimum stipend to $47,000 this July, with an additional one-time signing bonus of $1,000 upon ratification.
On Wednesday, March 27, panelists Dave Zirin, Rob Koehler and Doug Bandow discussed the global implications of sportswashing during the latest installment of the Spring 2024 Foreign Affair Symposium (FAS) series, Kaleidoscope: Embracing the Global Mosaic.
Effective Thursday, March 28, the University will no longer require at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all faculty, staff and students. Instead, the COVID-19 vaccine will be strongly encouraged, while the seasonal flu vaccine remains mandatory.
On March 20, the University announced its Regular Decision results, finalizing the selection of students accepted to the Class of 2028 in the regular admissions cycle. In total, 1,749 applicants were admitted in the Regular Decisions round, with 52 countries and 49 U.S. states being represented.
On Wednesday, March 27, the University announced that Mitt Romney, a U.S. Senator from Utah, will give the commencement speech for the Class of 2024 on May 23. Romney was sworn in as a senator for Utah in 2019. Previously, he served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Romney has run for the Republican presidential nomination twice and was selected as the presidential nominee in 2012.
The new Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism is a research center that officially launched this semester. The center emerged from the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship (RIC) founded in 2006 and is currently directed by Professor Stuart Schrader. With this expansion, the Chloe Center plans to continue programs from the RIC, such as open roundtables and the Graduate Student Symposiums, in addition to expanding and bringing more people into its orbit.
The University is mourning the loss of Shani Tahir Mott, who passed away Tuesday, March 12 from cancer, four days before her 48th birthday. She joined the Hopkins faculty in 2008 and was a lecturer in the Center for Africana Studies and the Department of History.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday, March 26 after a large container ship crashed into a support column. A construction crew of eight people and at least seven cars were on the bridge and fell into the Patapsco River.
On Thursday, March 14, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina woman to go to space, was invited as the second speaker of the Spring 2024 Foreign Affair Symposium (FAS) series, Kaleidoscope: Embracing the Global Mosaic. This event was hosted by the HOP, and was sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Chloe Center and the Maryland Space Grant Consortium (MDSGC).
The results for the 2024–2025 Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Board and class council elections were released on Wednesday, March 13. The Committee on Student Elections (CSE) reported that a total of 1,032 students voted, a number much lower than last year’s turnout of 1,453 students.
Two Class of 2026 senators in the Student Government Association (SGA), Srigouri Oruganty and Shruti Tyagi, are spearheading an initiative to establish a South Asian Studies minor. The minor is expected to consist of 14-20 credits, with core courses in history, geopolitics, sociology and theology. While the minor is currently in the early planning stage, the senators hope this program will provide interdisciplinary and individualized electives.
Merrick Barn, located behind Brody Learning Commons, is one of the oldest buildings on campus and home to the Undergraduate Program in Theatre Arts and Studies at Hopkins. According to A Brief History of the Homewood Campus: Its Buildings, Monuments, and Sculpture, the Barn (as it was formerly named) was first constructed in 1803 for Charles Carroll, Jr., son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton — signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the wealthiest American men at the time.
Christine Wang is a junior majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Space Science and Engineering. Outside of Hopkins, she has worked as an engineer in NASA’s Johnson Space Center since January 2023. In an interview with The News-Letter, Wang described her work at NASA, her experience as a Miss Maryland finalist and her professional fencing career.
The Student Government Association (SGA) convened for its weekly meeting on Tuesday, March 12. The session began with a presentation from the library leadership team on the renovation plan for the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSE), which showed computer-generated graphics and floor plans of envisioned spaces. The project highlights open spaces, integration of natural lighting and an increase in seat count.
Following another round of negotiations with the Hopkins administration last month, the Hopkins graduate student union, Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), announced a strike pledge on Tuesday, March 5. In the pledge, members expressed their willingness to strike if they do not reach an agreement with the administration regarding competitive wages and fair benefits.
A demonstration in solidarity with Palestine took place on Monday, March 11. Around 20 students convened in front of the Beach on North Charles Street to protest the ongoing violence in Gaza. The protest was organized by Hopkins Students for Palestine and involved students from various groups on campus, including Speak Out Now and the Hopkins Justice Collective.
The University is mourning the loss of Ethan Posner, who passed away Friday, March 8 after a brief illness. He was a sophomore studying Biophysics at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and a member of Hopkins Hillel, the Jewish Students Association, Club Swimming, the German Club and the Undergraduate Brain Computer Interface Society.
The candidates for the 2024–2025 SGA Executive Board took part in a debate on Wednesday, March 6, during which they answered questions about their platforms, the expanding structure of SGA and solutions to various issues on campus.
Greta Maras is a Hopkins alum who graduated in December 2022. As an undergraduate, she majored in Political Science and International Studies and minored in German and Environmental Studies. She is currently working as the administrative specialist for the Office of the Public Defender (PDO) in Baltimore.
