| The Johns Hopkins University |  | | Motto | Veritas vos liberabit (The truth shall make you free) | | Established | 1876 | | School type | Private | | President | William R. Brody | | Location | Baltimore, Maryland, USA | | Campus | Urban, 140 acres (570,000 m˛) | | Enrollment | 4,177 undergraduate,
1,576 graduate | | Faculty | 455 | | Mascot | Blue Jay | | Homepage | www.jhu.edu | The Johns Hopkins University is an internationally prestigious private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins offers undergraduate and graduate programs based at the Homewood Campus in Baltimore: The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences and the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering boast a wide spectrum in terms of its academic strengths, covering various fields from the social sciences and humanities to the natural sciences and engineering. Among the many strong departments at Johns Hopkins are art history, astronomy, biology, biomedical engineering, biophysics, creative writing (Writing Seminars), economics, English, environmental engineering, film and media studies, German, history, international studies, Near Eastern studies, political science, and the Romance languages.
General information
Johns Hopkins holds many "firsts" in American education: it was the first university in the United States to put an emphasis on research, founded on the German university model. As such, it was the first American university to teach through seminars, instead of soley through lectures. The University was the first in America to offer an undergraduate major (as opposed to a purely liberal arts curriculum) and the first American university to grant doctoral degrees. The Hopkins model set the standard in the United States for most large research universities, particularly The University of Chicago.
The University is named for Johns Hopkins, who left US$7,000,000 in his 1867 will for the foundation of the University and Johns Hopkins Hospital (at the time, it was the largest philanthropic bequest in United States history), the equivalent of approximately US$86,542,022 in the year 2003 (this personal gift only being surpassed by alumnus Michael Bloomberg's total donation of US$100,000,000 during the 1990s). The University opened February 22, 1876, with the stated goal of "The encouragement of research ... and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell." The University's first president was visionary educator Daniel Coit Gilman, and its motto in Latin is Veritas vos liberabit – "The truth shall make you free". The undergraduate student population at Hopkins was all male until 1970, though many graduate programs were integrated earlier.
The University was designed from the start to marry scholarship and research, and graduate education has always been of key importance. All students at Johns Hopkins are encouraged to pursue original research at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and nearly 80% of Johns Hopkins undergradates produce research by the time of graduation. Johns Hopkins receives more federal research grants than any other university in the United States, which is vital considering its smaller endownment size relative to its peer institutions. The University is affiliated with 31 Nobel laureates. It boasts a wide spectrum in terms of its academic strength covering various fields from international relations and art to humanities and social and natural sciences.
In 1900, Johns Hopkins was one of only fourteen Ph.D.-granting universities to found the Association of American Universities (AAU), along with Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, and other prominent institutions. The AAU is an organization of elite research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education.
In addition, people often mistakenly assume that Johns Hopkins' forename was "John" (much to the annoyance of alumni of the University and other informed persons). His forename is from a family surname. His great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, married Gerard Hopkins, and who named their son Johns Hopkins, whose name was passed on to his grandson.
In an excerpt from a commencement address from University President William R. Brody (May 2001):
"In 1888, just 12 years after the university was founded, Mark Twain wrote about this university in a letter to a friend. He said: "A few months ago I was told that the Johns Hopkins University had given me a degree. I naturally supposed this constituted me a Member of the Faculty, and so I started in to help as I could there. I told them I believed they were perfectly competent to run a college as far as the higher branches of education are concerned, but what they needed was a little help here and there from a practical commercial man. I said the public is sensitive to little things, and they wouldn't have full confidence in a college that didn't know how to spell the name 'John'."
More than a century later, we continue to bestow our diplomas only upon individuals of outstanding capabilities and great talent. And we continue to spell Johns with an 's'."
 Gilman Hall (Homewood)
Undergraduate education Johns Hopkins offers undergraduate programs based at the Homewood Campus in Baltimore: The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences and the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering, which contribute to Johns Hopkins' reputation of excellence. Among the many strong departments at Johns Hopkins are art history, astronomy, biology, biomedical engineering, biophysics, creative writing (Writing Seminars), economics, English, environmental engineering, film and media studies, German, history, international studies, Near Eastern studies, political science, and Romance languages. The Biomedical Engineering Department is widely recognized as one of the best in the nation. The French Department is also recognized as a "center of excellence" in the study of French culture and language by the government of France, one of only four in the United States.
Graduate education  The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in East Baltimore In addition to graduate education at the schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering, Johns Hopkins also has several respected graduate professional schools. - The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has an exceptional reputation, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health is renowned for contributions worldwide to preventive medicine and the health of large populations.
- The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (simply referred to as "SAIS"), based in Washington, D.C., is one of the country's leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations and is recognized as a world leader in international affairs, political economy, diplomacy, and policy research and education. SAIS has international campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. In addition, since 1990, SAIS has been one of only two non-law schools in the United States to participate in the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.
- The celebrated Peabody Conservatory of Music, located in downtown Baltimore, became a division of the University in 1977. The Conservatory retains its own student body and grants its own degrees in musicology, though both Hopkins and Peabody students may take courses at both institutions.
The University offers education abroad through centers in Germany, Singapore, and Italy. The University operates the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, which specializes in research for the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and other Government agencies. The Space Telescope Science Institute is located on the Hopkins campus and controls, analyzes, and collects data from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Campus  Wyman Quadrangle (Homewood) The park-like main campus of Johns Hopkins, Homewood, is set on 140 acres (570,000 m˛) in the northern part of Baltimore. Much of the beautiful architecture dates from the nineteenth century, and is designed in the Georgian style. Most newer buildings resemble the Georgian style, being built of red brick with white marble trim, but lack the details. The campus was originally the estate of the Carroll family, whose residence was used for administrative offices but now is preserved as a museum. In addition, the renowned Baltimore Museum of Art is situated just next to the University's campus, and admission is free to students.  The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC
Students Entrance to the college is among the most competitive in the country, with over 11,000 applicants for 1,000 places in the freshman class. Undergraduate students matriculate from all 50 states and over 40 countries. Within six years of graduation, 85% of Hopkins students earn graduate degrees, the highest percentage in the nation.
Student publications  The George Peabody Library (Mount Vernon Place) Hopkins has several entirely student-run publications. Among those are:The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, The Black & Blue Jay, Zeniada, j.mag, and Prometheus. The News-Letter is the oldest continuously-published college newspaper in the nation, founded in 1896, and is published weekly. The Black & Blue Jay is among the nation's oldest humor magazines, founded in 1921, and is the inspiration for the University's mascot. Zeniada and j.mag are the university literary magazines. Prometheus is the undergraduate philosophy journal.
Library system  The Milton S. Eisenhower Library (Homewood) and the "Beach" (the grassy knoll) The Milton S. Eisenhower Library (called "MSE" by students), located on the Homewood Campus, houses over 2.6 million volumes and over 20,000 journal subscriptions. The Eisenhower Library is a member of the University's Sheridan Libraries encompassing collections at the Albert D. Hutzler Reading Room in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at Mount Vernon Place. Together these collections provide the major research library resources for the University, serving Johns Hopkins academic programs worldwide.
Since tradition (and a little campus lore) dictates that no structure on campus can be taller than Gilman Hall (the oldest academic building), only two of the six stories of the library are above ground; the rest are beneath, though architects designed the building so that every level has windows and natural light. (In truth, there is no rule regarding building height; the library's design was chosen for architectural and aesthetic reasons when it was finally built in the 1960's. Prior "master plans" for campus design over the previous decades had included massive imposing buildings to house the library collections.)
Athletics  The Johns Hopkins Blue Jay The school's sports teams are named the Blue Jays. Hopkins has separate sets of colors: Columbia blue and black for athletic uniforms, and sable and gold for academic robes, and it is the only university in the United States to celebrate Homecoming in the spring. Hopkins participates in the NCAA's Division III and the Centennial Conference. The school's most prominent sports team is its Division I lacrosse team, which has won 42 national titles. Hopkins' collegiate lacrosse rivals are Princeton University and Syracuse University, and intrastate rivals are the University of Maryland and the United States Naval Academy. The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame is adjacent to the University.
Presidents of Johns Hopkins - Daniel Coit Gilman, May 1875 - August 1901
- Ira Remsen, September 1901 - January 1913
- Frank Goodnow, October 1914 - June 1929
- Joseph Sweetman Ames, July 1929 - June 1935
- Isaiah Bowman, July 1935 - December 1948
- Detlev Bronk, January 1949 - August 1953
- Lowell Reed, September 1953 - June 1956
- Milton S. Eisenhower, July 1956 - June 1967 & March 1971 - January 1972
- Lincoln Gordon, July 1967 - March 1971
- Steven Muller, February 1972 - June 1990
- William C. Richardson, July 1990 - July 1995
- Daniel Nathans, June 1995 - August 1996
- William R. Brody, August 1996 - present
People of Johns Hopkins
Notable alumni
Nobel laureates - Peter Agre - chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2003
- Richard Axel - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2004
- Joseph Erlanger - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1944
- Robert W. Fogel - economist, Nobel Prize in Economics, 1993
- Herbert Spencer Gasser - Nobel Prize in Physiology, 1944
- Paul Greengard - biophysicist, Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2000
- Haldan Keffer Hartline - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1967
- Merton H. Miller - economist, Nobel Prize in Economics, 1990
- Thomas Hunt Morgan - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1933
- Martin Rodbell - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1994
- Francis Peyton Rous - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1966
- Hamilton O. Smith - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1978
- George Hoyt Whipple - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1934
- Jody Williams - Nobel Peace Prize, 1997
- Woodrow Wilson - President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize, 1919
Government and public service
Academia, science, and technology
Literature, arts, and media - John Astin - actor, Gomez Addams on The Addams Family
- Russell Baker - author, Pulitzer Prize winner, host Masterpiece Theatre
- John Barth - novelist
- Wolf Blitzer - CNN anchor
- Rachel Carson - environmentalist, author Silent Spring
- Iris Chang - author Rape of Nanking
- J.D. Considine - music critic
- Richard Ben Cramer - journalist, author What It Takes, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Wes Craven - film director, producer
- Mildred Dunnock - renowned film and stage actress
- David Lipsky - contributing Editor Rolling Stone, author Absolutely American
- Michele Kelemen - national correspondent National Public Radio
- Pat O'Brien - co-anchor, sports commentator/analyst Entertainment Tonight
- P. J. O'Rourke - political satirist and journalist
- Ben Neihart - author Hey, Joe, Burning Girl
- Patricia Sabga - London chief correspondent NBC News
- Gertrude Stein - feminist, author
- Allen Wastler - managing editor CNN/Money.com
Business
Other
Notable faculty - Herbert Baxter Adams - historian, coined phrase "political science"
- Peter Agre - chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2003
- Christian B. Anfinsen - Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1972
- John Astin - famed television actor (The Addams Family), lecturer in the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars department
- James Mark Baldwin - philosopher
- John Barth - novelist
- Zbigniew Brzezinski - National Security Advisor, 1977-1981
- Nicholas Murray Butler - Nobel Peace Prize, 1931
- Benjamin Carson - pediatric neurosurgeon, author Gifted Hands
- William G. Cochran - statistician
- J.M. Coetzee - Nobel Prize in Literature, 2003
- Richard Threlkeld Cox - physicist, Cox's theorem
- Jacques Derrida - philosopher
- Joseph Erlanger - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1944
- Henry Jones Ford - political scientist and journalist
- James Franck - Nobel Prize in Physics, 1925
- Francis Fukuyama - political economist, author The End of History
- Riccardo Giacconi - Nobel Prize in Physics, 2002
- Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve - classical scholar
- Maria Goeppert-Mayer - Nobel Prize in Physics, 1963
- G. Stanley Hall - pioneer in the field of psychology, founding president of Clark University
- Steve H. Hanke - economist, Presidential advisor, Cato Institute senior fellow
- Haldan Keffer Hartline - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1967
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe - economist
- David H. Hubel - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1971
- Simon Kuznets - Noble Prize in Economics, 1971
- Albert L. Lehninger - author of a long-time standard biochemistry textbook
- Alfred J. Lotka - mathematician and statistician
- Alice McDermott - novelist, National Book Award, 1998
- Victor A. McKusick - author of Mendelian Inheritance in Man
- Merton H. Miller - Nobel Prize in Economics, 1990
- George Richards Minot - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1934
- Robert H. Mundell - Nobel Prize in Economics, 1999
- Daniel Nathans - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1978
- Simon Newcomb - astronomer and mathematician
- Paul H. Nitze - diplomat, principal author NSC-68, co-founder of SAIS
- Lars Onsager - Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1968
- Robert G. Parr - theoretical chemist
- Ronald Paulson - English specialist
- Charles Peirce - logician
- Ayn Rand - author The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged
- Ira Remsen - chemist, discoverer of saccharin
- Henry Augustus Rowland - physicist
- Hamilton O. Smith - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1978
- Sir Richard Stone - Nobel Prize in Economics, 1984
- James Joseph Sylvester - mathematician
- Paul Smolenksy - cognitive scientist - authored Optimality Theory
- Harold Clayton Urey - Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1934
- Vincent du Vigneaud - Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1955
- George Hoyt Whipple - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1934
- Torsten Wiesel - Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1981
- Paul Wolfowitz - Deputy Secretary of Defense, former Dean of SAIS
- Robert W. Wood - experimental physicist
Fictional associations
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