School of Public Health Celebrates Building Completion, Rededicates Mission

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will mark the completion of its primary teaching and research facility with a rededication ceremony and celebration on April 23, 2004. Alfred Sommer, MD, MHS, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, will rededicate the School to its mission of protecting health and saving lives—millions at a time. The event will feature presentations explaining the importance of public health and the School’s role in promoting public health worldwide from William H. Gates, Sr., co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Honorable Barbara Mikulski, the Honorable Paul Sarbanes and Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of the City of New York. Mayor Bloomberg will also unveil a plaque dedicating the new facility and the School, which is named in honor of Mr. Bloomberg.

The completion of the new teaching and research facility marks the final phase of a 12-year expansion of the School’s East Baltimore campus, which was originally constructed in 1926. The final expansion adds approximately 200,000 square feet of floor space with 260 new offices and 8 floors of laboratory space at a cost of $55 million. Many of the new laboratories will be dedicated to the Malaria Research Institute, which is working on vaccines and other methods to eradicate malaria.

The building’s expansion was designed by the architecture firm Ziger Snead. They attempted to create an “indoor campus” to accommodate the School’s diverse and international student population. The new building includes a coffee shop, fitness facility and two multi-story, sky-lit reading courts to provide a comfortable environment for students to study or spend time between courses. The expanded student lounge features a 10 by 13 foot wall-mounted video monitor.

A 350-seat auditorium was also added. The building also features wireless internet service, so students can access the Internet from anywhere in the building using laptop computers.

The rededication events will be held at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, located at 615 N. Wolfe Street in East Baltimore, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 23. The event is open to the faculty, staff and students of the School and selected guests. The rededication and reception will be followed by a dinner for special guests.

Public Affairs Media Contacts for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Tim Parsons or Kenna Brigham at 410-955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu.