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The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University February 6, 2006 | Vol. 35 No. 20
 
Anonymous donor pledges $100 million

Gift will support key university and hospital priorities

By Dennis O'Shea
Homewood

An anonymous benefactor has committed $100 million to the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World campaign, supporting critical initiatives in medicine, public health and the humanities.

The gift, to be divided among a number of construction, renovation, research and other projects, is the fourth nine-figure commitment in the history of the Johns Hopkins Institutions, and the third in the current campaign.

"This gift is breathtaking not only in size but also in scope, addressing a number of our most important priorities," President William R. Brody said. "Our benefactor knows what our teachers do for students, what our doctors do for patients and what our researchers do for humanity and has chosen to support our work in all three arenas. This incredible generosity will have a very, very significant impact for many decades to come."

Specifically, the gift will be directed to:

Assist with construction of a new children's tower at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, replacing facilities, more than 40 years old, that are overcrowded and outmoded and do not easily accommodate today's medical technology. Construction is to begin this year on the 12- story 560,000-square-foot tower, which will include a pediatric trauma center, 205 inpatient beds, 10 operating rooms, outpatient care for oncology and psychiatry, and the Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, among other services. The $275.5 million tower, due for completion in 2009, will be part of a $725 million complex that will also include an adult cardiovascular and critical care tower.

Support renovation of Gilman Hall, the iconic main academic building on the university's Homewood campus. The 90-year-old home of the university's humanities departments — such as History, English, Philosophy, Near Eastern Studies, Classics and Romance Languages and Literatures — is the intellectual heart of the university. It is long overdue for state-of-the-art classrooms and lecture halls, additional seminar rooms and study areas, a new home for the university's archaeological museum and upgraded mechanical systems. Selection of an architect and contractor for the $35 million project is under way.

Initiatives in the School of Medicine and its Institute for Cell Engineering, where scientists are doing fundamental research that may lead to the use of reprogrammed stem cells as treatments for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease, ALS and diabetes to heart failure, stroke and spinal cord injury.

A number of initiatives in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The first institution of its kind worldwide, the school is dedicated to protecting health and saving lives — on a scale of up to millions of people at a time — through pioneering research, application of its expertise in programs around the world and education of tomorrow's public health scientists and practitioners.

The $100 million commitment lifts the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World campaign past its overall goal of $2 billion in gifts and pledges, two years before the campaign's close at the end of 2007. Commitments now stand at $2.1 billion.

Though the overall goal has been met, essential funding for a number of high-priority patient care, research and education projects has not yet been completed, Brody said. He said the campaign will continue to seek support for such initiatives as the hospital towers; Gilman Hall, a computational sciences building and the Charles Commons project at Homewood; a building for the School of Nursing and the Berman Bioethics Institute; buildings at overseas campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China; and endowment for student aid and professorships.

"Our many, many alumni and friends have been extraordinary in their zeal for Johns Hopkins' mission of making discoveries and putting knowledge to work for the world," Brody said. "So far, 170,000 of them have made gifts, large and small, to this campaign. They have our most fervent thanks.

"We owe it to them, and to everyone on this planet who benefits from the work of Johns Hopkins, to continue this campaign," he said. "We owe it to them to ensure that we give our faculty, physicians, students and staff all the facilities and resources they need to truly make their mark on this world."

The Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World campaign began its silent phase in July 2000 and was launched publicly in 2002. The campaign, which benefits both The Johns Hopkins University and The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, has focused on endowment for student aid and faculty support; research, academic, and clinical initiatives; and building and upgrading facilities on all Johns Hopkins campuses.

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