Construction under way
	Kresge Foundation issues challenge as construction begins on Rec Center
	Friends team up to acquire D.C. building for Hopkins
	To ice hockey alums
	Baltimore Matisse collection draws JHU's Colorado alumni
	The 'type' that saves lives
	Nominations due July 1 for next alumni awards

Construction Under Way

Construction began this spring on the recreation center at Homewood, which will be added to the Athletic Center (seen at right in drawing). Read more below.

Kresge Foundation Issues Challenge as Construction Begins on Rec Center

Construction began this spring on the recreation center at Homewood, expected to open in the fall of 2001. The three-story, 62,000-square-foot structure will be added to the Newton H. White Athletic Center adn will contain a field house with courts for basketball, volleyball, racquetball, and squash; an indoor track; a climbing wall; a fitness center; and flexible multipurpose spaces.

To help complete funding for the rec center and for the student arts center also under construction, The Kresge Foundation has announced a #1 million challenge grant to the University. In order to receive the funds and meet the Kresge Challenge, Johns Hopkins needs to raise--by April 1, 2000--$6.1 million towards construction of the two buildings. This amount, pluse the $1 million from Kresge, represents the balance still needed for the $31 million project.

For information call Bill Fitzgerald in the Development Office, 410-516-8722.

David Bernstein and Morris Offit
Friends Team Up to Acquire D.C. Building for Hopkins

Thanks to the generosity and persistence of two lifelong friends and University trustees, Johns Hopkins is acquiring an eight-story office building in Washington, D.C., that will be home to the Washington programs of University divisions located in Baltimore.

The first to move in will be the D.C. programs of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, including the Center for the Study of American Government.

Situated at 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., the new building is across the street from Hopkins' Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Also nearby is space rented for programs of the School of Public Health and the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education. The Krieger School also currently offers courses in several nearby locations.

The $16 million facility will be named the Bernstein-Offit Building for trustees David H. Bernstein of Baltimore and Morris W. Offit of New York, both A&S '57, who together made an initial pledge of $5.5 million for the acquisition.

"Nothing could give me more pleasure than joining with David, my dear friend and classmate, to help make this building a reality for Hopkins," said Mr. Offit. "It is a personal partnership, on behalf of our favorite university, that as students we never dreamed possible."

Lifelong friends David Bernstein, left, and Morris Offit

Built in 1964, the 100,000-square-foot facility has about 22,000 square feet of unoccupied space that will be renovated immediately for the Krieger School.

Particularly enthusiastic about the new building is Benjamin Ginsberg, creator and director of the Center for the Study of American Government, who came to Hopkins from Cornell in 1992. He holds the David H. Bernstein Professorship in Political Science, endowed by Mr. Bernstein in 1989.

The center involves about 30 Hopkins juniors each year who spend their spring semester gaining exposure to the day-to-day realities of public policy debate in American government.

"Our program puts students in Washington two days a week for an entire semester, serving internships in Congressional, ambassadorial, departmental, and public interest offices," Professor Ginsberg said. "This 15 hours a week of real-world experience is then linked to a seminar I teach on public policy."

As successful as the program has been, Dr. Ginsberg has long believed there should be something more. "We have always envisioned a space of our own in Washington that would enable our undergraduates to work more closely with our graduate students. That is the kind of collaborative model that sets a Hopkins education apart," he added.

David Bernstein and Morris Offit, long-time advocates for the University's programs in Washington, agreed. Together, they thought, they could help Professor Ginsberg achieve his dream.

Mr. Bernstein, whose degree is in political science, commented, "I've always felt that the Hopkins presence in Washington could be stronger. Baltimore is only 40 miles away, but it's a long 40 miles. The creation of the Center for the Study of American Government was a good first step in bridging that distance, but to really have presence you need a building."

It was Mr. Offit, then chairman of the Board of Trustees, who suggested the two friends jointly contribute to the project.

"Our parents were friends and so we've known each other since we were children," Mr. Bernstein related. "We went to different high schools, but we both ended up at Hopkins where we became very close. Morris was the one who brought me on to the Board of Trustees."

After the two had made their decision, the University launched a quest to find the perfect building.

David Bernstein and Morris Offit agree that 1717 Massachusetts Avenue is ideal.

"This facility provides what the Center for the Study of American Government needs to be a cohesive unit," Mr. Offit said, "and also provides other long-term possibilities for the University's programs. It is across the street from the Nitze School, which furthers our aims for collaboration between schools and between undergraduate and graduate students. We are very pleased to have found it."

"Our Center for the Study of American Government allows our best students the chance not just to study and understand government, but to live it and breathe it," Mr. Bernstein said.

"To be on the scene and involved is an entirely different learning experience. It's what Hopkins is all about.

"I think this building will make a huge difference for the center and our students, and I am proud to help make this dream a reality," Mr. Bernstein concluded.

To Ice Hockey Alums

Co-founders of the Blue Jays ice hockey team Bill Dwyer, Engr '86, and Andy Gray, A&S '88, hope to organize an alumni game and to put together a roster of alumni players. Any hockey alums interested in catching up with old teammates or registering for an alumni game should contact Bill at wjdwyer@flash.net or Andy at premo_gray@mindspring.com.

Baltimore Matisse Collection Draws JHU's Colorado Alumni

Some 80 alumni and guests--a record number for a Colorado alumni chapter event--enjoyed a private tour of Baltimore's own Cone Collection of Matisse art in March at the Denver Art Museum. The collection has rarely traveled, but renovations under way at the Baltimore Museum of Art made the tour possible.

"This was a terrific event with an outstanding turnout and a fabulous exhibit to tour," said chapter president Robert R. Duncan, who organized the evening, which began with a reception and hors d'oeuvres. Acting as host was Lewis Sharp, director of the Denver Art Museum, who has has several family connections with Johns Hopkins. Featured were nearly 70 paintings, watercolors, prints, and sculptures by Henri Matisse, a favorite of the Cone sisters.

Colorado chapter president Robert Duncan, A&S '71, is flanked by his wife, Beth, at right, and Liesl harmon, A&S '89, Colorado G.O.L.D. chair, during the March event.

For further information, click on www.alumni.jhu.edu or phone 410-516-0363 or 800-548-5481.

The 'Type' that Saves Lives
How the Alumni Association and Hopkins Students from Three Schools Joined Forces to Save Lives

"One day," says Sallie Permar, co-founder of the Type for Life drive, "Annie Reis and I were running along--I had convinced her to train for a marathon with me--and I mentioned to her how surprised I was that Hopkins had no marrow registry drive."

At Davidson College, where Sallie studied as an undergraduate, the registry drive has been an annual event run by students since 1989, the year a Davidson student was diagnosed with leukemia. "It's a big deal at Davidson," explains Sallie, a Ph.D. student at the School of Public Health.

Thousands of people each year are diagnosed with leukemia and other conditions that could be treated, and often cured, with a marrow transplant. Unfortunately, only about 25% of patients find a suitable donor within their own families. The other 75% must cross their fingers and hope that they will find a match on the international registry maintained by the NMDP, the National Marrow Donor Program. As of Spring 2000, over 4 million potential donors had registered their blood profiles on the registry. While 4 million may sound like a lot, it isn't nearly enough. Only about a third of Caucasian patients seeking transplants are able to find a match on the registry, and the success rate is as low as 14% among non-Caucasian groups.

"Well," Annie (Med '02) responded as they neared mile 15 of their run, "let's do something about it!" As they checked their pulses and did their cool-down stretches, the two friends decided then and there to start a drive at Hopkins. They were soon joined by their friend Jennifer Anderson, another Ph.D. student at the School of Public Health, and Jennifer Annibale, a student at the School of Nursing.

Type for Life Organizers look on as Allen Chen talks with one of his young patients, Richard Goodlaxson, who was helped by a marrow transplant. The students are, from left, Annie Reis, Jennifer Annibale, Jennifer Anderson, and Sallie Permar.

"We all are very interested in helping people," says the group's finance chair, Jennifer Anderson, explaining the common denominator. "I think this drive is such a simple way to make an impact on someone's life. Our slogan is 'Are you the TYPE to save a life?'"

Their first step was to speak with Allen Chen, assistant professor of oncology and pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Chen, a softspoken young doctor with an obvious passion for his work, told them how marrow donations had saved patients' lives. As they walked through the colorfully decorated pediatric ward, Jennifer Annibale, who had done her pediatric rotation here the semester before, saw some familiar faces among the 15 or so children.

Convinced that their idea for a drive was important, the students then faced the problem of money. It costs around $75 dollars to type a blood sample for the registry. If their drive were as successful as they hoped, it could become very expensive. They canvassed the three schools for support.

Their first donation--$5,000--came from the Marrow Foundation in Washington, D.C. Subsequent donations came from the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Community Service Grant Program, the Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Society, the Johns Hopkins Nurses' Alumni Association, SPH's Student Assembly, and several corporate sponsors, including Ben & Jerry's, which offered to sponsor an ice cream social for the school with the largest participation in the drive. Altogether they raised $16,000.

Committee members Karen Rabenau and Virginia Wood, both graduate students at SPH, visited student groups, handed out information about marrow registration, and answered questions about NMDP. They explained that being added to the registry is just a matter a giving a small sample of blood to be typed for antigens. If you are lucky enough to be a match for a patient--and only about 1% of people on the registry are ever called as a match--the donation of the actual marrow is relatively simple, and your body makes new marrow to replace what you've donated.

Sallie and Annie ran their marathon this spring, crossing the finish line together in under five hours. They crossed the Type for Life finish line as well, and with impressive numbers. The drive, held April 10-13, added 540 new potential donors to the national registry--40 more than their goal.

The organizers all are on the registry as well. When asked if they think they might end up being a match for someone, they smile and speak all at once, their voices overlapping, "Who knows? I hope so! Yes!" For all the happy expectation in their voices, they could be talking about winning the lottery, or finishing a marathon, or saving a life.

Nominations Due July 1 For Next Alumni Awards

The Alumni Association has two nomination periods for alumni awards, with deadlines July 1 and December 1. There are three awards (see Alumni Association Awards: Summer 1999 and Winter 2000):

The Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service,

The Heritage Award for outstanding service to Johns Hopkins, and

The Distinguished Alumnus Award honoring personal accomplishments, professional achievements, or humanitarian service.

Send the nomination--along with your own name, address, affiliation, and phone number--to the JHU Alumni Awards Nominations, 3211 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218; fax: 410-516-6858; e-mail: rebeccab@jhu.edu.

RETURN TO JUNE 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS.