Dear Johns Hopkins Friends:

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees today elected William R. Brody as the 13th president of The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Brody will take office by September 1.

Bill is superbly qualified to lead Johns Hopkins. With a Ph.D. in engineering and a medical degree, both from Stanford, he brings to Hopkins an exceptional breadth of experience and a commitment to education, research and clinical service.

Bill has served since 1994 as provost of the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, where he is responsible for seven professional schools, a hospital and a health system. He was a member of the Stanford faculty. He co- founded a high technology company in Silicon Valley.

But, as you may know, he also is no stranger to Johns Hopkins. He served here for seven years as director of the Department of Radiology in the School of Medicine, and also had an appointment in the Whiting School of Engineering. As chair of our Committee for the 21st Century, he spent more than a year working closely with faculty colleagues from across the university, thinking creatively about how Johns Hopkins should redefine itself to meet the challenges of the future.

Bill knows Johns Hopkins. He knows higher education. He knows what research universities and academic medical centers contribute to our society. He knows and appreciates the many interfaces among government, business and the university. He understands the challenges that face us.

The search committee and all the trustees join me in thanking everyone in the university community for the valuable advice and assistance we received as we considered hundreds of nominations for the Hopkins presidency. We know you will greatly enjoy working with Bill Brody in the years to come.

Thanks and best regards.

Sincerely,

Morris W. Offit

Go to Headlines@HopkinsHome Page