Johns Hopkins University Eastern Campus: A History of Growth and Transformation

Johns Hopkins University, a name synonymous with groundbreaking research and academic excellence, has a rich and multifaceted history. Its Eastern campus, in particular, embodies the institution's evolution, reflecting its commitment to innovation, community engagement, and addressing societal challenges. From its origins as a modest estate to its current status as a leading medical and research hub, the Eastern campus narrates a compelling story of growth and transformation.

Origins and Establishment of the Homewood Campus

The story of Johns Hopkins University's Eastern campus begins with the 140-acre site that incorporates the 120-acre Homewood estate. Established in 1802 by Charles Carroll, Jr., the estate was later acquired by the Wyman family in 1839. As the university, initially founded in 1876 in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, grew and required more space, William Wyman, then-owner of Homewood, collaborated with his cousin William Keyser to reassemble the divided estate. This reassembled estate was gifted to the university in 1902, marking a significant step in the development of the Eastern campus.

In 1904, an advisory committee, including Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., selected Parker and Thomas to design the new campus. Early planting plans were submitted by Warren Manning, and by 1914, the Parker and Thomas plan was realized. The original core of the campus was laid out in a ‘T’ comprising two adjacent, perpendicular quadrangles, crossed sparingly by walking paths and framed by Federalist-style buildings. Keyser Quadrangle (constituting the shorter, east-west axis) is bordered on the west by Gilman Hall, the university’s first academic building, completed in 1915. Canopy trees line the quadrangle, framing views of the stately building. A brick-paved plaza connects the Keyser Quadrangle to Wyman Quadrangle (forming the longer, north-south axis) to the south.

The Department of Near Eastern Studies: A Legacy of Scholarship

The Department of Near Eastern Studies holds a prominent place in the university's history as one of its original departments. Modeled after the German system, it was initially led by Paul Haupt, a renowned Sumerologist and Assyriologist from Leipzig and Göttingen, who held the W. W. Spence Chair. Haupt's student, William Foxwell Albright, succeeded him and became one of the most influential scholars of the 20th century.

Albright's three-decade tenure at Hopkins (1929-1958) was marked by significant contributions to the field. He also served as the director of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem for twelve years. Albright's expertise spanned epigraphy, the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and material culture, earning him the title of "Dean of Biblical Archaeology." His extensive knowledge of the ancient Near East resulted in over 1,000 publications and 29 honorary degrees.

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Avraham Biran, a 1935 doctoral graduate, also made significant contributions to the field. He directed the excavations at Tel Dan in northern Israel for over 30 years and held various positions in the Israeli government, including District Commissioner of Jerusalem and Israeli consul in Los Angeles. Biran also oversaw excavations as Director of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums and helped negotiate the publication of parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The department's legacy extends to its alumni, with four holding professorships at Harvard University: Frank Moore Cross, Thomas Lambdin, William Moran, and G. Ernest Wright. Frank Moore Cross held Harvard’s second oldest chair (the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages in the Department of Near East Languages and Civilizations) from 1958-1992, and was the curator of the Harvard Semitic Museum. Raymond Brown, another notable alumnus, was regarded as the "Dean of New Testament scholars" and served on the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center: A Tradition of Service and Excellence

Another key component of the Eastern campus is the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Founded in 1773, it is one of the oldest, continuous health care institutions on the East Coast and a member of the Johns Hopkins Health System. From its beginnings as an almshouse, it evolved into an asylum and then a municipal hospital.

In 1984, the city of Baltimore transferred ownership of the hospital to The Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Johns Hopkins University. Since then, over $600 million has been invested to modernize the campus. The Medical Center is home to highly ranked Geriatric Medicine and Rheumatology programs, as well as a trauma center and neonatal intensive care unit.

As an academic teaching hospital, all physicians at Johns Hopkins Bayview are full-time faculty at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The Medical Center provides a supportive environment that allows house staff the opportunity to become leaders in primary care general internal medicine, geriatric medicine and other medical subspecialties.

Addressing Historical Complexities: The Hopkins Family and Slavery

Recent research has shed light on the complex relationship between the Hopkins family and slavery. Contrary to previously accepted accounts, census records indicate that Johns Hopkins had enslaved people living and working in his home in 1840 and 1850, with the latter document denoting Johns Hopkins as the slaveholder. Researchers are investigating these records to offer a more nuanced understanding of the Hopkins family's history.

Johns Hopkins, who made his fortune in the wholesale business and by investing in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, set aside $7 million in his will to establish a hospital and affiliated training colleges, an orphanage, and a university.

The Vision of Johns Hopkins Hospital

Johns Hopkins initially envisioned his hospital as a peaceful retreat on his country estate, Clifton. However, he was persuaded to build it closer to the city's poor, on the site of Maryland's debt-ridden mental illness asylum. The 13-acre property had a history as a general hospital, built to cope with a yellow fever epidemic in 1798.

After Hopkins' death in 1873, John Shaw Billings, an expert in hospitals and public health, developed a plan for the hospital, drawing on leading hospital authorities in Europe. Construction began in 1877 but progressed slowly due to funding constraints.

By the time the Hospital was completed 12 years later, only six of Hopkins' 12 handpicked trustees were still alive. By then, seventeen hospital buildings encircled an open courtyard. The structures included a centerpiece administration building; two private wards; four regular wards; an isolation ward; an amphitheater; bathhouse; kitchen; laundry; dispensary; apothecary building; pathology building; a home for nurses and a stable.

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Innovative Design for Healing and Health

The original Johns Hopkins Hospital was designed by Cabot and Chandler, based on plans prepared by John Niernsee. The hospital's design incorporated innovative features to limit the spread of disease, including a sophisticated ventilation system and curved corners to prevent dust accumulation. The Johns Hopkins Hospital was the first in the nation to be equipped with central heating. Most inside corners were curved to avoid the buildup of dust and dirt. The hospital was wired for electricity and telephones, even though electrical service was not yet available in that part of Baltimore.

Inspirational Symbols: "Christus Consolator" and the Sundial

The "Christus Consolator" statue, a copy of Bertel Thorwaldsen's work, was donated in 1896 and has become a symbol of compassion and hope at the hospital. On the terrace outside the Broadway entrance stands a bronze sundial, designed by Albert Crehore of Yonkers, N.Y., One of Adolf Meyer's more prominent psychiatric patients credits a sundial, designed by Albert Crehore of Yonkers, N.Y., with spurring him to improve his outlook and get on with what turned out to be a highly successful career. The dial's weatherworn inscription reads, "One hour alone is in thy hands, the hour on which the shadow stands."

The Johns Hopkins Hospital Today

Today, The Johns Hopkins Hospital complex sprawls over 22 acres. Some 74 elevators connect medical units stacked up to 15 stories high, with infection controlled through means more sophisticated than anything Billings could imagine. World-renowned specialty centers have risen from the site, including the Wilmer Eye Institute, the Adolf Meyer Center for Psychiatry and the Neurosciences, the Brady Urological Institute, the Heart and Vascular Institute, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Children's Center, the Meyerhoff Center for Digestive Diseases, and the A. McGehee Harvey Teaching Tower and Russell Nelson Patient Tower. Each major center is designed not just for diagnosis, treatment and care of patients, but to accommodate research and education to advance each field.

Johns Hopkins University: A Legacy of Research and Global Impact

Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, has established itself as a leader in research and innovation. The university has made incredible advancements including: Health & Medicine Specific Research, Cataloged more than 80 percent of the proteins in the human body-the “proteome”-as a biomedical resource, Showed that half-matched bone marrow transplants are comparable to fully matched tissue, Developed a blood test for cancer, First cancer genomes decoded, Pioneered exchange of kidneys among incompatible donors, Developed and received FDA-approval for an immunotherapy drug for cancer based on genetic glitch rather than organ site, Isolated and cultivated human embryonic stem cells, the undifferentiated cells from which an entire human being eventually develops, Invented the first implantable, rechargeable pacemaker for cardiac disorders, Discovered restriction enzymes, the so-called “biochemical scissors,” which gave birth to the entire field of genetic engineering, Developed the “blue baby” operation to correct congenital heart defects, ushering in a new era in open heart surgery, Helped develop the first effective treatment for sickle cell anemia, Showed that retrolental fibroplasia, which causes blindness in premature infants, was related to high concentrations of oxygen used in babies’ incubators and other Areas of Research, Captured the first color photograph of Earth taken from space, Identified high rates of infant deaths in motor vehicle accidents, leading to the passage of child safety restraint laws, The system of water purification by chlorination, Took the first detailed images of images of Ultima Thule-the most distant space object ever explored, Designed, built, and operated the Parker Solar Probe, a NASA spacecraft that will travel within four million miles of the surface of the sun, Confirmed the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls, speeding acceptance as genuine of these earliest biblical manuscripts, Sent a spacecraft to Mercury to orbit the planet and see its entire surface for the first time, Designed, built, and operated the New Horizons spacecraft, which completed a flyby of Pluto, Introduced the rubber glove for use during surgery, Developed the first supersonic ramjet engine, Built JEDI, one of nine scientific instruments aboard NASA’s JUNO spacecraft, which is orbiting Jupiter, Conducted the first large-scale research study of conditions of inequality in American schools, which resulted in the landmark report “Equality of Educational Opportunity“.

The university's global impact is evident through its international research and training programs, collaborations, and alumni network. Some of their most notable global impacts include: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - a leader in public health research and education with practices in more than one hundred countries. This program specifically has had major advancements against health threats such as polio, road traffic injuries, malnutrition, gun violence, HIV/AIDs, and addiction. Jhpiego - a nonprofit health organization affiliated with the university that has spent more than 40 years in 155 developing countries aiming to improve the health of women and families. Johns Hopkins Alliance For a Healthier World - an initiative that brings together experts from a range of disciplines to address global health challenges and advance global health equity. Johns Hopkins Medicine International - a program that offers personalized care for patients traveling to Hopkins from outside of the United States and works closely with affiliates from around the world to help improve global health care.

Addressing Diversity and Inclusion

In the 1970s, Johns Hopkins University faced challenges regarding diversity and inclusion. In 1970: Baltimore City's population was 44 percent black. Blacks on the Johns Hopkins faculty represented only 0.2% of 527 in the medical school, 0.7% of 537 at Homewood, and 1.4% of 211 in the School of Hygiene. Black employees at the School of Hygiene included 12% of technicians, 18% of office/clerical staff, 19% of craftsmen, all 5 laborers, and 60 percent of 70 service workers. None of 14 managers were black.

To address these issues, the university developed affirmative action plans and training programs. "The Johns Hopkins University has historically and uninterruptedly concerned itself with providing medical care for the indigent--which in the Baltimore environment has meant assistance to the black resident--and been involved in depth in the solution of the social and economic problems of the community.

Affirmative Action included veterans, mentally and physically handicapped persons, racial minorities, women, and members of religious groups, and applied to students, faculty, and professional and support staff.

"An increasing number of minority group individuals and women external to the University are invited to participate in University programs. The University seeks good community relations with all race/ethnic components of the Baltimore metropolitan communities. . . . At the Health Divisions, the 'Eastbo Fair' [begun in 1973] is also an important community relations program. The 'Eastbo' is a joint effort of East Baltimore merchants, community members, and the Office of Community Relations of the Health Divisions to present a variety of activities and entertainment for the Hopkins and East Baltimore community.

Community Engagement and Collaboration

Johns Hopkins University has a long history of community engagement, particularly in East Baltimore. The university's relationship with the community has involved providing medical care, addressing social and economic problems, and collaborating on research and treatment programs.

Committed leadership for extended time periods is essential for the success of university-community partnerships. Surgeon General Thomas Parran, the Rockefeller Foundation International Health Division, and SHPH deans Lowell Reed and Ernest Stebbins was essential to the success of the Eastern Health District. In the 1960s, JHU President Lincoln Gordon was committed to the success of the Urban Center in East Baltimore and was an ally of the School of Hygiene.

The most lasting changes brought about by JHMI’s relationship with East Baltimore have been a commitment to increasing race and gender diversity among students, faculty and staff; and successful research and treatment programs in health behavioral interventions such as those in substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases (such as the ALIVE study of HIV-positive IV drug users).

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