The following appointments in fund raising and alumni relations have been announced by The Johns Hopkins Institutions:

B.J. Davisson has been promoted to senior director of gift planning. He will head the Johns Hopkins Office of Planned Giving, where he has been director of gift planning for five years. A 1981 graduate of Frostburg State University, Davisson earned a master's degree in 1983 from Ohio State University.

Kate Erda has joined Johns Hopkins as director of the Office of Annual Giving. She previously was director of annual giving at the Harvard College Fund at Harvard University. Erda graduated in 1989 from Bowdoin College.

Deborah Wells has been named associate dean for development and alumni relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She came to Johns Hopkins as senior director of development and associate campaign director in 2001. Wells is a 1972 graduate of Western Kentucky University.

Scott Rembold has been appointed director of development at the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. He previously was director of development for the graduate school of education at George Washington University, from which he earned a master's degree in 2000. Rembold is a 1988 graduate of Wake Forest University.

Laurette Hankins has been named director of development for the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Hankins previously served Johns Hopkins for six years as associate dean for development and alumni relations at the Peabody Institute. She is a 1976 graduate of Duke University.

Gabrielle Bennett has been appointed director of development, Europe, for Johns Hopkins and its Bologna Center in Italy. She will be based in Cambridge, England. Previously, Bennett was development director for Downing College, Cambridge University. She graduated in 1989 from the University of Virginia.