Isaiah
Bowman (July 1935 - December 1948)
Isaiah Bowman assumed the presidency at the height of the Depression. Among
his achievements was balancing the budget by raising an endowment fund of
more than $1 million. When the United States entered the war, Bowman became
a special adviser to the secretary of state and was later a member of the
American delegation at the conference at which the United Nations was founded.
At war's end, Bowman directed the restructuring of the university to accommodate
returning servicemen.
Detlev
Bronk (January 1949 - August 1953)
Detlev Bronk, credited with formulating the modern theory of the science of
biophysics, picked up where President Bowman had left off reshaping the postwar
university. Bronk believed firmly in academic freedom. He resisted vigorously
an attempt by Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy to have Hopkins dismiss Professor
Owen Lattimore prior to his trial on espionage charges. He tried unsuccessfully
to revive the "Goodnow Plan" but succeeded in acquiring the School of Advanced
International Studies in Washington.
Lowell
Reed (September 1953 - June 1956)
Lowell Reed was 67 and had just retired from a distinguished 35-year career
as a research scientist in biostatistics and public health administration
at Hopkins when he was asked to serve as university president, having previously
held posts as dean and director of the School of Hygiene nd Public Health
and later as vice president in charge of medical activities. During his three-year
administration, Reed continued Hopkins postwar growth, overseeing the construction
of Shriver and Ames halls and adding a second set of Alumni Memorial Residences.
Milton
S. Eisenhower (July 1956 - June 1967)
Milton S. Eisenhower, youngest brother of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower,
is the only Hopkins president to serve two non-consecutive terms. During his
first term, the university income tripled, the endowment doubled and new construction
included the athletic center and the library at Homewood that would bear his
name. Eisenhower was well-liked by faculty and students, and upon his retirement
in 1967, he was given the title president emeritus in recognition of his devoted
service. He was coaxed out of retirement for 10 months in 1971-72 after Lincoln
Gordon resigned.
Lincoln
Gordon (July 1967 - March 1971)
Former ambassador to Brazil and assistant secretary of state for inter-American
affairs, Lincoln Gordon served as president for four tumultuous years, not
only for Hopkins but for the country. Students and faculty, critical of the
country's involvement in Vietnam, for a brief time occupied the university's
executive offices. Citing increasing criticism from faculty, Gordon resigned
in March 1971, but not before introducing coeducation to the undergraduate
program in 1970.
Steven
Muller (February 1972 - June 1990)
Steven Muller had held the post of provost and vice president for only 10
months when the trustees named him to succeed Lincoln Gordon. He also was
named president of Hopkins Hospital, a distinction held only by Daniel Coit
Gilman. Muller guided the university as it assumed responsibility for the
Peabody Conservatory, presided over the construction of the Bloomberg Center
for Physics and Astronomy and the Space Telescope Science Institute and established
or enlarged academic centers in downtown Baltimore, in Montgomery County,
at the Applied Physics Laboratory and in Nanjing, China. He concluded a record
$450 million fundraising drive one year early and was named president emeritus
upon his retirement in 1990.
William
C. Richardson (July 1990 - July 1995)
One of William C. Richardson's priorities upon becoming Hopkins 11th president
was to restore confidence in the School of Arts and Sciences while pursuing
the recommendations of the five-year scaling-down plan. Richardson's tenure
was marked by the beginning of a period of close government scrutiny of higher
education and a reduction in federal and state grants to private and research
universities. During his term in office, alumnus Zanvyl Krieger pledged $50
million as part of a challenge aimed at increasing the Arts and Sciences endowment
by $100 million.
Daniel
Nathans (June 1995 - August 1996)
Nobel Prize winner Daniel Nathans considered it his obligation to accept the
post of interim president (the first such designation in university history)
while the trustees searched for President Richardson's replacement. Nathans,
who had been a faculty member for 33 years, said, "I think it's important
to have a smooth transition to keep the momentum going." And he did that.
During his brief tenure, Nathans accepted for the university a $55 million
gift from trustee and alumnus Michael Bloomberg, which kept the Hopkins
Initiative on track toward its goal of $900 million by the year 2000.