Named Deanships, Directorships, and Professorships
Endowed positions have a personal and lasting impact.
Natalia Trayanova, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Trayanova’s research centers around understanding the normal and pathological electrophysiological and electromechanical behavior of the heart. She is the Murray B. Sachs Professor.
Arturo Casadevall, Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Casadevall’s groundbreaking work on infectious diseases is widely known. He has received several of the highest honors in medicine and health, and holds the Alfred and Jill Sommer Professorship and Chairmanship.
Dr. Chung, the inaugural Charles D. Miller Professor, joined the Hopkins faculty in the Department of Political Science in 2004, where she teaches courses in comparative politics and East Asian politics.
Professor Wang, the R. Clayton Emory Chair in Real Estate and Infrastructure, joined the Carey Business School in 2014 and leads the Edward St. John Real Estate Program.
Ashani T. Weeraratna, Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine
Ashani T. Weeraratna, Ph.D., is the E.V. McCollum Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, and co-leader of the Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Program at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professorship
HENRY M. WIESENFELD, A&S 1928, was a Baltimore native and successful businessman. During his senior year at Johns Hopkins, Mr. Wiesenfeld assumed management of his family’s saddlery and sporting goods business upon his father’s death. Under Mr. Wiesenfeld’s leadership, the company continued to prosper. Eventually, he closed its store at…
HARRY C. BLACK had been chairman of the board of the A. S. Abell Company, which published the Baltimore Sunpapers, for more than 25 years when he died in 1956. The A. S. ABELL TRUST, created by his estate, endowed this professorship in his memory. Milton S. Eisenhower, then president of…
BASIL LANNEAU GILDERSLEEVE, Hopkins' first professor of Greek--and the first faculty member appointed at the newly formed university--was twice president of the American Philological Association and founder of The American Journal of Philology, which he edited for 40 years. Dr. Gildersleeve's 1878 inaugural address for the American Philological Association, titled "University…
Gerhard H. Dieke Professorship in Physics and Astronomy
GERHARD H. DIEKE, one of the world's foremost experts in spectroscopy, was a professor of physics at Johns Hopkins for 35 years and chair of the department from 1950 until his death in 1965. He helped develop the spectroscopic techniques used in the chemical analysis of metals--a discovery that was…
Felix Posen Professorship in Modern Jewish History
FELIX POSEN, A&S 1948, focuses his energy and substantial resources on educating the world about the cultural, intellectual, scientific, economic, and historical contributions of Jews over the centuries. He retired in 1992 as a partner of what was then the largest international trading firm dealing in oil, metal and minerals,…
Elliott Coleman Professorship in the Writing Seminars
In 1947 ELLIOTT COLEMAN founded the Hopkins Writing Seminars, which was only the second such program in the country. Dr. Coleman, who published 18 volumes of poetry and essays, continued to chair the department until his retirement 30 years later. He was a mentor to many American writers who later…
E. EMMET REID, who served on the Hopkins chemistry faculty from 1916 until his retirement in 1936, was responsible for the synthesis of more than 75 new organic compounds. An authority on organic sulphur compounds, he is credited with the invention of tear gas. After retirement, Dr. Reid continued his…
DUANE L. PETERSON, who died in 1962, was a Baltimore philanthropist and founder of Peterson, Howell & Heather, a national business services firm which became the PHH Corporation. He and his wife served as trustees and directors of a wide range of public and private organizations.
The Drew Family Professorship in the Humanities was given jointly by INA and HOWIE DREW. Both graduates of the Class of 1978, Ina and Howie place great emphasis on quality teaching and have a tremendous love for the humanities. Their wish is that this professorship recognize creative and inspirational teaching,…
Dr. A. HERMANN PFUND earned his PhD from the Physics Department at The Johns Hopkins University in 1906. He went on to serve as a professor and chair of that department and became part of the pantheon of scholars whose discoveries in optics ultimately led to the birth of the…
Dick and Lydia Todd Faculty Development Chair in Cognitive Science
DICK TODD, A&S 1929, Med 1933, and his wife, LYDIA TODD, were longtime supporters of Johns Hopkins. High-school sweethearts, they married while Dr. Todd was in medical school. After a time in private practice, Dr. Todd joined the staff of Children's Hospital in Washington, DC, where he organized one of…
FANNY FOX DECKER, a longtime supporter of the university, made several generous gifts in honor of her son, ALONZO G. DECKER JR., her husband, ALONZO G. DECKER SR. (pictured below), and the Decker family. Mrs. Decker, who died in 1981, established the Decker Chair in the Humanities during her lifetime…
