Dean Martha Hill (A message from President Daniels)

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

Fewer than 30 years ago, this university did not have a nursing school. Today, by any measure -- undergraduate, master’s and doctoral education programs; research; and service to our communities locally and around the world -- the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is one of the best anywhere.

The school’s astonishing leap to national and international prominence is due in part to our ability to build upon the remarkable tradition, history and excellence of nursing education at Johns Hopkins, including the hospital-based nursing training program that began in 1889.

But it is also attributable to the extraordinary contributions of dedicated faculty and staff, beginning with its leaders. And no one has contributed more throughout the school’s history than its current dean, and one of its original faculty members, Martha Hill.

It is with deeply mixed emotions that I share that Dean Hill plans to conclude her service as dean at the end of this academic year, remaining a member of the faculty and returning to her research. While I am delighted for her that she will embark on this new chapter, I will truly miss her leadership of the school and her counsel on university-wide matters.

Martha Hill embodies the very best of Johns Hopkins. She earned her nursing diploma from the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing and her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the university. She was one of the first four faculty members to join founding dean Carol Gray when the School of Nursing was established as a standalone division of the university. She later became director of its Center for Nursing Research.

She helped to advance broader university goals through joint appointments in the schools of Medicine and Public Health and service on important university bodies. In all her endeavors, from championing urban health initiatives to increasing the school’s commitment to global health, Martha has been a passionate and effective advocate for nurturing the excellence of individual faculty, students and staff. She also has passionately and effectively advocated for fostering interdisciplinary connections across our departments and divisions that ensure our ability to better educate our students, care for our patients and affect change in our communities. 

Her internationally recognized scholarly work has brought considerable prestige to Johns Hopkins and made her a transformative leader in her field. She is known worldwide for devising and proving strategies to overcome health care disparities and improve hypertension care and control among urban, underserved African-Americans. She was the first non-physician to serve as president of the American Heart Association. She serves on the Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She also is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and vice chair of the board of Research!America.

Martha became dean of nursing in 2002 after a year of service in an interim capacity. Since then, the school’s advances have been nothing short of remarkable. She has overseen growth in the size and stature of the faculty and the student body. She has led a growth in research funding of more than 440 percent. She has revised an already robust undergraduate curriculum and built superb graduate programs, recruited outstanding faculty, initiated important new research efforts, and greatly reinforced the school’s finances.

We will honor Martha’s work in part by finding a successor capable of building on the foundation she has established and leading the school to even greater levels of excellence. Details of a search will be announced soon.

There will be ample opportunity before next summer to more formally celebrate Martha’s tremendous success. For now, let me join her many colleagues in expressing gratitude for her great friendship and for everything she has done -- and will continue to do -- to ensure the success of Johns Hopkins Nursing and our entire university.

Sincerely,
Ronald J. Daniels