News-Letter

Ronald J. Daniels will be Hopkins' 14th president.

Breaking News: November 11, 2008

Members of the Hopkins community were notified by e-mail blast this morning that Ronald Joel Daniels will be the 14th University president.

The pick was unanimously supported by the Presidential Search Committee and the board of trustees elected Daniels earlier today. He will take office on March 2. Current President William Brody announced his retirement last March and, more recently, his plans to head the Salk Institute.

Daniels' prior leadership experience includes being provost of the University of Pennsylvania for almost four years and dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto for a decade.

His education includes an L.L.M. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Toronto, where he was also an undergraduate.

"As an external appointment, my first task will be to spend time learning Johns Hopkins -- its history and aspirations, its achievements, and what each of the university's core constituencies hopes to contribute to, and gain from, this magnificent institution in the years to come," said Daniels on a Web site dedicated to his appointment.

Michael Bloomberg, New York City mayor and former chair of the Hopkins board of trustees, supports the pick, according to a quote on the Web site.

"Bill Brody has been a highly effective and visionary president of Johns Hopkins and he will be a tough act to follow," said Bloomberg. "However, I am confident that Ron Daniels is the right man to take the university ever farther. He's smart, he's focused, and he's a great leader. We owe tremendous gratitude to Bill for his many years of service and I send my very best wishes to Ron as he takes the helm of this incredible institution."

According to the e-mail blast, Daniels will be speaking at Hopkins this afternoon. At 2 p.m., he will be at Shriver Hall, and at 3:30 p.m. he'll be at Turner Auditorium in East Baltimore.

Daniels will live on campus in the Nichols House -- making him the fourth Hopkins President to do so, including Brody -- according to a University press release. His wife, Joanne Rosen, is a human rights attorney. They have four teenagers, ages fourteen through seventeen.

On the same informational Web site, Pamela P. Flaherty, current chair of the board of trustees, said of the pick: "Ron is a distinguished scholar, a dedicated educator, a brilliant and inspiring leader and a skillful communicator. He has created a remarkable record as Penn's chief academic officer, helping to break new ground for the university in areas as diverse as faculty recruitment, undergraduate education, international initiatives, diversity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and technology transfer, to name but a few."

She added: "He stood out in a truly remarkable field of highly qualified candidates for this job."

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