About Us

The Academy at Johns Hopkins supports the continued research, teaching and service of retired faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Honoring our retired faculty for their exceptional wisdom, intelligence and experience, the Academy actively engages retired faculty in the Johns Hopkins community in ways that benefit our students, patients, disciplines and institution, and that support their ongoing professional fulfillment.

In late 2015, the Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Paul Rothman, commissioned a Task Force on Senior Faculty Support and Transitions to identify the needs of senior and retired faculty and later convened a Senior Faculty Advisory Board to help develop the programs to address these needs. In order to more fully engage retired faculty in support of the Hopkins academy mission, the Task Force recommended the creation of an emeritus college, now formally called The Academy at Johns Hopkins. In the fall of 2018, construction of the Academy suite was complete and the Academy officially opened and began enrolling members. To date, the Academy has ninety members. There is an Academy Chair, Dr. Bill Baumgartner, and six Academy Subcommittees each headed by two co-chairs. The subcommittees include Mentoring/Coaching, Teaching/Precepting, Community Volunteering, Academy Sponsored Symposia, Academic Speakers/Talks and Social Activities.

The Academy’s physical home is in the historic William H. Welch Medical Library, on the East Baltimore campus of Johns Hopkins University. This setting is deeply symbolic; the Welch Library is a hallowed space, a place that stewards the history of medical science, located at the birthplace of academic medicine. By virtue of its steady traffic of students and its proximity to teaching and clinical spaces, the Welch Library also represents the present and future of medicine and, more broadly, the health sciences. The Academy’s suite includes comfortable spaces suitable for private meetings, individual study, group gatherings, symposia and social events. Its design incorporates a full business center, kitchen, conference room with video and web conferencing capacity, and an administrative office.

Welcome from the Inaugural Chair of The Academy at Johns Hopkins

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Welcome to our website for The Academy at Johns Hopkins, East Baltimore campus. We were excited to open the Academy in the fall of 2018 after much planning and construction. The concept and design of the Academy originated with Janice Clements, vice dean for faculty, and Cynthia Rand, senior associate dean for faculty, and was enthusiastically supported and funded by Dean Paul Rothman.

The Academy honors the wisdom and expertise of our senior and retired faculty from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. A beautiful suite, developed within the east wing of the Welch Library, features comfortable work and meeting space, a coffee bar and casual seating. We are fortunate to have recruited Jennifer Van Beek as our Academy administrator, who provides excellent support to all our members.

The Academy is much more than a beautiful suite. We are actively engaged in providing multiple educational, mentoring and social opportunities for our members, who now number nearly 90. These retired faculty wish to continue to be active and work with the current faculty and students of their respective schools, as well as volunteer for community service. Retiring from Johns Hopkins no longer means one retires from service. We encourage our members to use the Academy as a platform for continued connection with their schools and between schools. The success of the Academy will be primarily measured by our members’ active engagement.

We welcome you to stop by the Academy. Jennifer is in attendance Monday through Friday and would be pleased to show you the suite and answer any questions. We feel that the Academy is a wonderful way to honor our retired faculty, while providing experienced volunteer service in a variety of settings for Johns Hopkins.

Sincerely,

William Baumgartner, M.D.
Inaugural Chair of The Academy at Johns Hopkins