School of Hygiene and Public Health Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 20, 2001 / 3 p.m. / 846th Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Margaret Ensminger, Bernard Guyer, Robert Lawrence, and Edward Miller.

Provost Steven Knapp convened the meeting at 3 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 845th meeting on February 27, 2001 were approved.

Remarks by the Provost

Provost Knapp reported that President's Brody's address to mark the occasion of the 125th Anniversary of the University would be held on Tuesday, March 27th at 4:00 p.m. in Shriver Hall. The original date was postponed because of snow. He thanked the School for rescheduling the COW meeting of March 27th, and encouraged all faculty to attend.

Dr. Knapp mentioned that he recently met with Dean Sommer and Ms Eggleston Wehr regarding plans for the new campaign that will be launched next year. Dr. Knapp looks forward to working with the Dean and others at the School. He spoke about the ongoing challenges of the campaign, including the need to maintain the competitiveness of the University, particularly in the recruitment and retention of its faculty. He commented on a survey being sent to faculty, one purpose of which is to assess the reasons faculty decide to come to Hopkins and the reasons they leave. Dr. Knapp commented that faculty sometimes leave because they can be promoted earlier or are offered department chair positions at other institutions. Financial resources are not typically the driving force that starts a discussion about a position, but are usually the bottom line in the end.

Remarks by the Dean

Dr. Sommer reported that one of the outcomes of the establishment of Maryland's Tobacco Restitution Fund is the Johns Hopkins Academic Health Cancer Research Grant. This initiative from the State of Maryland supports a cancer research program and broader public health-oriented activities that will position the School to address a number of critical cancer prevention and control problems in the State. The grant is being managed by the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Cancer Center. Faculty in the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing will be eligible to apply for research projects in cancer control and prevention that will be administered through the Cancer Center.

The first few years of the grant are critical for faculty recruitment and retention of faculty who will focus on cancer prevention and on reduction of morbidity and mortality of cancers targeted by the State, including lung, colo-rectal, breast, prostate, melanoma, oral, and cervical cancers. Drs. Martin Abeloff and John Groopman are co- directors of the grant. Dr. Groopman commented that there will be approximately $2.5 M available between now and June 30, 2001 to be used for faculty recruitment and retention and that an executive director for the program has been hired. This program is expected to meet with much enthusiasm and success by the faculty.

The Advisory Board was appraised about the opportunity to alter the School's name. The new name, to be publicly announced on or before May 6, 2001, was unanimously approved.

Report of the Faculty Senate

Dr. Mitzner reported that the next scheduled meeting on April 10, 2001 will be a joint meeting of the COW and Faculty Senate. On the agenda will be a proposed quality of life survey among faculty and a draft of the student grievance policy. The May 1st meeting will be a Faculty General Assembly, where the agenda will include development of a teaching portfolio and review of TAM.

Report on searches for Quantitative and Molecular Sciences for Research on Populations and Behavioral Sciences

Applications from 38 candidates have been received and are available for review on the Quantitative and Molecular Sciences for Research and Populations website. Some departments have had visits from candidates. All five candidates for a position in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology have visited the School and presented seminars. Faculty in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will meet shortly to select a candidate to whom the position will be offered. Dr. Zeger reported that one of the candidates for a position in the Department of Biostatistics turned down an offer due to the inability of her husband to find a suitable position in the area. Dr. Zeger commented that another candidate who recently visited the School was excited by what he saw, and Dr. Samet commented on a candidate who is interested in genetic epidemiology.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Diane Glover

© 2001 The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Last updated 27Apr01 by dgips@jhu.edu