Spring Break
Brody reflects on his years at Hopkins, decision to retire
Issue date: 3/27/08
N-L: Are there issues at Hopkins you wish you had confronted?
WB: There are probably hundred of issues. The trick in this job is focus and the trick in life is focus ... Somebody once told me you only have so many attention units. So the more you focus on one thing the more likely that one thing is going to get done. If you divide that focus over 20 things, you're less likely to get any one of those 20 things accomplished … You always have many more things you should do, or could do, then you have time to do them.
When I came in, the most important thing I saw for undergraduate education was creating a better sense community, making Hopkins a place with a stronger sense community and creating more interaction so it would be more attractive for students to come to Hopkins. We've outpaced all of our peers institutions in our growth in admissions. We've accomplished that, and it's now time to look at some other things we would like to do.
N-L: Do you think the University should officially divest from Sudan?
WB: You can't divest if you don't own anything. The University doesn't own anything in Sudan. There are no major corporations or minor corporations in Sudan that we would be invested in. It's very different from South Africa where there were companies - and I wasn't really around at the time - but we did have students involved in the committee that looked at our investments … In Sudan, it's sort of a non-investment issue, and we haven't been able to get that message across.
...We probably are invested in Coca Cola, I would guess, or in Pepsi-Cola or one of those companies. Should we not own stock in Pepsi-Cola because they sell in the Sudan? I think that gets to be too complicated. Should we invest in companies in Russia or China because they don't promote democracy? That's a broader issue.
N-L: Hopkins tuition has grown over the course of your presidency. Do you think you could have done more to make Hopkins affordable?
WB: Well if you look at our financial aid package, the net cost of coming to Hopkins has not grown. Yes, inflation has grown but the net cost - tuition minus financial aid - has remained competitive.
WB: There are probably hundred of issues. The trick in this job is focus and the trick in life is focus ... Somebody once told me you only have so many attention units. So the more you focus on one thing the more likely that one thing is going to get done. If you divide that focus over 20 things, you're less likely to get any one of those 20 things accomplished … You always have many more things you should do, or could do, then you have time to do them.
When I came in, the most important thing I saw for undergraduate education was creating a better sense community, making Hopkins a place with a stronger sense community and creating more interaction so it would be more attractive for students to come to Hopkins. We've outpaced all of our peers institutions in our growth in admissions. We've accomplished that, and it's now time to look at some other things we would like to do.
N-L: Do you think the University should officially divest from Sudan?
WB: You can't divest if you don't own anything. The University doesn't own anything in Sudan. There are no major corporations or minor corporations in Sudan that we would be invested in. It's very different from South Africa where there were companies - and I wasn't really around at the time - but we did have students involved in the committee that looked at our investments … In Sudan, it's sort of a non-investment issue, and we haven't been able to get that message across.
...We probably are invested in Coca Cola, I would guess, or in Pepsi-Cola or one of those companies. Should we not own stock in Pepsi-Cola because they sell in the Sudan? I think that gets to be too complicated. Should we invest in companies in Russia or China because they don't promote democracy? That's a broader issue.
N-L: Hopkins tuition has grown over the course of your presidency. Do you think you could have done more to make Hopkins affordable?
WB: Well if you look at our financial aid package, the net cost of coming to Hopkins has not grown. Yes, inflation has grown but the net cost - tuition minus financial aid - has remained competitive.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Aaron Martel
posted 3/31/08 @ 9:03 PM EST
(1) JHU refuses to review indirect holdings (e.g. mutual funds) and therefore may still invest in offending companies (e.g. PetroChina, Sinopec, ONGC). (Continued…)
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