Nov 11, 2008 5:23 pm US/Eastern
Johns Hopkins Names Penn Provost As New President
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ―
-
-
Johns Hopkins University named its new president on Tuesday -- Ronald J. Daniels, a Canadian law professor who comes to Baltimore from the University of Pennsylvania, where he had been provost.
CBS
Johns Hopkins University named its new president on Tuesday -- Ronald J. Daniels, a Canadian law professor who pledged to improve accessibility to higher education despite tough economic times.
Pat Warren reports Daniels, who succeeds retiring president William Brody, said universities have emerged as society's most important institution.
"No other institution is more centrally invested in the task of improving the human condition," said Daniels, currently the provost at the University of Pennsylvania.
Daniels added universities are "tremendously potent tools for social mobility," noting his father, aunt and uncle were the first in their family to receive higher education and he has "never lost sight of the impact it has had on me and my family."
He takes over an institution that is home to not only a prestigious university but one of the world's leading hospitals and research centers. The university is the top recipient of federal research and development funds and is one of the state's largest private employers with about 27,000 full-time, part-time and temporary positions.
Brody, however, noted all of the university's revenues streams are challenged in the current economic climate and there will be "tough times in figuring out how to weather the storm."
The outgoing president noted such times can also be opportunities for the university to improve its standing.
Daniels, a youthful looking 49-year-old, is known for his fund-raising ability as well as his leadership and social conscience.
As dean of the University of Toronto law school from 1995 to 2005, Daniels increased the school's endowment from $1 million to $57 million. He also organized an international conference on anti-terror legislation following the 9/11 attacks.
Ed Morgan, a law law professor at the University of Toronto, said his former colleague is a "ball of energy."
"One thing about Ron is he doesn't seem to tire," Morgan said.
"Johns Hopkins, I'm sure can expect lots of new initiatives, lots of new ideas."
Those ideas will tend to be fairly progressive, Morgan said, adding Daniels is "a product of Canadian intellectual circles which tend to be very open minded."
In addition to law, Daniels' academic interests include economics and he has a "socially sensitive view of modern economics," Morgan said.
Daniels has spent the last three years at Penn, where he focused on faculty retention and recruitment and increasing student support.
The chairwoman of the Hopkins search committee, Pamela P. Flaherty, said Daniels helped to accelerate Penn's rise to pre-eminence, noting his record of academic entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary collaboration.
"Ron is a strategic thinker, known for articulating and implementing bold and visionary academic ideas and initiatives," Flaherty said.
Daniels said his visit to Baltimore on Tuesday was only his third and he was still learning about the university and the city.
He pledged, however, to "devote every ounce of my passion and energy" to the new job, noting Johns Hopkins' many roles in the community, including educator, employer and health-care provider make it a "force for civic good."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Winter Storm Hits Maryland, Part 3
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments