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Anna D. Wolf Professorship

School of Nursing
Faculty Affairs

Established in 1993 by nursing alumni, family, and friends in memory of Anna D. Wolf

WolfAnnaANNA D. WOLF, Nurs 1915, who directed the nursing school from 1940 until 1955, was a trailblazer not only at Hopkins but around the world. She organized the School of Nursing at the Peking Union Medical College in China, laid the foundation for the baccalaureate nursing program at Cornell University, and organized the all-graduate nursing service at the University of Chicago. In 1940 she returned to Hopkins to serve as superintendent. Ms. Wolf, who died in 1985, is remembered most for her commitment to the advancement of nursing education based on a belief in the importance of nursing as a great human service.

Held by Robert Atkins

ROBERT ATKINS, PhD, MSN, BSN, BA, RN, FAAN, is the executive vice dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

He has spent most of his career working to improve the health and well-being of marginalized children and families living in distressed neighborhoods. Early in his career, he worked as a school nurse at East Camden (NJ) Middle School and cofounded the Camden STARR Program, a nonprofit development program dedicated to improving the life chances of young people in Camden. His work there motivated him to complete a PhD in the Department of Public Health at Temple University to better understand the factors that influence the health of children living in distressed environments. He also earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and American civilizations from Brown University and bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Atkins has also served as national program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) program. In this role, he created meaningful partnerships between stakeholders from higher education, philanthropy, local and state governments, and communities.