Engaged and generous philanthropic supporters have been integral to the Berman Institute’s growth and impact.
Leadership and Support
The Berman Institute’s National Advisory Board has had just three Board Chairs over our first 30 years. Morris Offit, Bud Meyerhoff and Alex Levi, along with his wife Vicki (pictured with Ruth Faden and Jeffrey Kahn), have provided tireless effort and wise counsel, and their philanthropy has set us on the course for success in the next three decades and beyond. Levi, a trustee emeritus of Johns Hopkins University, joined the Board in 1995 and has served as its Chair for half of the Institute’s existence. He and Vicki have been visionary supporters.
From helping create the leadership symposium that was one of the Institute’s first formal programs, to supporting both the Hecht-Levi Fellowship Program and endowing a professorship devoted to bioethics and public policy, to contributing to the renovation of Deering Hall, the Levis have been trailblazers in helping the Berman Institute expand its offerings and reach.
“It’s been my job to keep the Board engaged,” he said. “If there’s an area they’ve expressed some curiosity in, I’ll link them with faculty who are experts in it.”
As if their other their long and deep commitments to the Institute were not enough, the Levis made a landmark gift to the Berman Institute in 2018, establishing the Ruth R. Faden Endowment for Education in Bioethics. In addition, they subsequently pledged funds to endow a professorship in Faden’s honor dedicated to bioethics education.
“I’ve been involved with the Berman Institute for a long time, and I feel like it’s given back more to me than I could ever give to it. Vicki and I wanted to find a way to honor Ruth’s lifetime of service, to creating the Berman Institute, to bioethics at Hopkins, and to the field,” said Levi. “This gift will create new leaders who will change the world in ways we can’t yet foresee.”
National Advisory Board Members
The time, insight and vision of volunteer leaders has been integral to the Berman Institute’s success. We express our gratitude to all who have served on the National Advisory Board since its inception 30 years ago.
Support
Much of our success has been enabled by the resources provided by visionary and philanthropic individuals.
This support takes the form of investment in people, such as endowed professorships, which make us unique among bioethics programs for the number of star faculty we are able to recruit, and in capital projects.
The renovation and eventual naming of our home, Deering Hall, was a key historical moment as it solidified our position as an interdisciplinary inter-school institute within Johns Hopkins University and created a center of gravity for bioethics at Hopkins as well as a single home for our faculty, staff, and students. That growth will continue next year, as the Institute expands into the adjoining Henrietta Lacks Building.
Philanthropic Supporters
The Berman Institute began 30 years ago with a generous bequest from our namesake, Phoebe Berman. We honor those donors whose lifetime giving reaches or exceeds six figures.
Leadership and Support Highlights
Historical Highlight: Deering Hall Provides a Permanent Home
The 2011 conversion of a historic East Baltimore building brings the Berman Institute together under one roof
Berman Receives Transformational Gift
$15 million gift from Dr. Alexander and Vicki Levi to support the education and training of future leaders in the field of bioethics
Berman Institute Launches Public Bioethics Program with Creation of the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab
Gifts totaling $3 million support new paradigm for public dissemination of research and analysis