Endowed Professorships

Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH

Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Berman Institute of Bioethics;
Robert Henry Levi and Ryda Hecht Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy

Andreas C. Dracopoulos Directorship of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Established in 2013 by Andreas C. Dracopoulos

Andreas C. Dracopoulos is the Co-President and Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, an international philanthropic organization established in 1996 by his great-uncle, the late Stavros Niarchos.

Mr. Dracopoulos is a Trustee of The Rockefeller University and Johns Hopkins University, where he is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Berman Institute of Bioethics. He is a member of the Board of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

Mr. Dracopoulos is also a member of the Board of the Dalton School in NYC. In addition, he is an Honorary Trustee of the New York Public Library (NYPL), where he served as a Trustee from 2003 to 2010. In 2012, the NYPL honored him for his contributions to the Library’s educational programs. In 2015, the Child Mind Institute honored him for his commitment to supporting children’s mental health during their Child Mind Institute Child Advocacy Award Dinner.

In 2016, Andreas Dracopoulos was awarded the rank of the Officer of the Legion of Honor of the Republic of France. In 2012, the Greek State awarded him with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix.

In 2015, Mr. Dracopoulos was honored during the 100th Anniversary celebration of The National Herald for his contributions towards supporting Greek education, and he received the Person of the Year award from the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Dracopoulos was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He resides in New York City.

Robert Henry Levi and Ryda Hecht Levi Professorship in Bioethics and Public Policy

Established in 2000 by the Levi family in memory of Robert H. Levi and in honor of Ryda H. Levi

Robert H. Level, A&S ‘36 (1915-1995), trustee of both the university and hospital, was a leader in fundraising at Hopkins beginning in the 1970s. He was described by former Hopkins President Milton S. Eisenhower as “one of the wisest men I have ever met.” Ryda H. Levi was internationally known for her ongoing support of art and education. Mr. and Mrs. Levi donated the funds and art for the establishment of the Baltimore Museum of Art sculpture garden. In 1985, the west wing of Mudd Hall on the Homewood campus was dedicated to the Levi’s for their extraordinary devotion and generosity to the university. In 1997, two years after his death, the Robert H. Levi Leadership Program in Bioethics and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bioethics Institute was established in Mr. Levi’s memory by the Hecht-Levi Foundation. The program includes a biannual symposium on pressing ethical issues in medicine and health policy.

The Levi Professorship will be held by a faculty member in the Bloomberg School of Public Health who serves on the core faculty of the Bioethics Institute, a joint initiative of the schools of Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. The institute is dedicated to the study of complex moral and policy issues in biomedical science, health care, and health policy. Its mission is to educate leaders in bioethics; to promote research at the intersection of ethics, law, medicine and science; and to provide policy advice to the government and the private sector.

Ruth R. Faden, PhD, MPH

Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics

Philip Franklin Wagley Chair in Biomedical Ethics

Established in 1995 by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Harvey M. Meyerhoff, and family and friends in honor of Dr. Philip Franklin Wagley

Dr. Philip Franklin Wagley was a prominent Baltimore internist who created and taught a highly regarded course in medical ethics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The course, which Dr. Wagley taught for 11 years before retiring in 1987, helped medical students identify and resolve such ethical problems in medicine as AIDS, abortion, health care for the elderly and health care costs. Dr. Wagley broadened the discussion of these issues by bringing lawyers, theologians, philosophers and other physicians to the class. In recognition of his pioneering efforts and commitment in the field of medical ethics, the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, with donations from Harvey Meyerhoff and family and friends of Dr. Wagley, established the Philip Franklin Wagley Chair in Medical Ethics in 1995.

Nancy E. Kass, ScD

Phoebe R. Berman Professor of Bioethics and Public Health

Phoebe R. Berman Professorship of Bioethics and Public Health

Established in 1996 by Phoebe Rhea Berman

Phoebe Rhea Berman believed there was no better place than Johns Hopkins to address the ethical dilemmas raised by advances in medical discovery. “With all the complexities of modern life — new discoveries in science, changes in medicine and medical care — medical professionals and policy makers are faced with very difficult decisions. There is a need for the teaching of ethics in our society.”To underscore this conviction, Berman established an endowment for the Institute, saying, “If you have more money than you need, you should give some of it away, shouldn’t you? And what better to support than the Bioethics Institute? The work that is being done there has great meaning for me and can make a real difference in society.” The Berman Institute was officially established in 1995.Berman grew up on a farm and at a young age developed what she called a reverence for life. Many decades later, she and her husband went to French Equatorial Africa to work with Albert Schweitzer as extended volunteers. Schweitzer’s work inspired her, and her commitment to the need for ethical considerations in medical and scientific decision-making was reaffirmed and strengthened. “You have to have a strong heart and great will to make the kind of difference someone like Dr. Schweitzer made. All I am doing is making a contribution in a way that is meaningful for me,” Berman said.Berman had previously established the Edgar Berman Professorship in International Health and the Edgar Berman and Hubert Humphrey Fund in International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health to honor her husband, Edgar Berman, who was a pioneering surgeon, an outspoken social critic, and a best-selling author. Berman was also a dedicated supporter of the arts, contributing to the Peabody Institute, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Baltimore Symphony.

Cynda Hylton Rushton, PhD, RN

Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics

Anne and George L. Bunting Professorship in Clinical Ethics

Established in 2012 by the Bunting Family

A long-time member of the Berman Institute of Bioethics’s advisory board and philanthropic supporter of The Johns Hopkins University, George L. Bunting has been integral to the institute’s growth into one of the world’s largest and most respected centers of bioethics. First proposed a decade ago, this professorship represents years of dedication, perseverance, and collaboration among the Bunting family, Berman Institute Director Ruth R. Faden, PhD, MPH, and School of Nursing Dean Martha N. Hill, PhD, RN, FAAN, Nurs ’64, ’66, SPH ’87 (PhD).Since the time of Hippocrates, medical professionals have grappled not only with their patients’ health problems, but the inevitable ethical issues that arise. To continue improving the quality and ethical delivery of patient care, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics have jointly established the Bunting Professorship, endowed by the Bunting family. This joint professorship highlights the increasingly important interprofessional role of nursing and bioethics.

Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MA

Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine

Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professorship in Bioethics

Established in 2004 with a commitment made in 1999 by Harvey M. Meyerhoff

Throughout the Berman Institute’s history, most notably during his decade as Chair of the Advisory Board, Bud Meyerhoff’s leadership and vision have been integral to its success. He spearheaded the Institute’s strategic planning process, which helped formulate the future vision of the Institute, develop a competitive strategy to achieve its goals, and create and organizational structure for that vision.In addition to his leadership on the Advisory Board, Meyerhoff made a generous commitment in 1999 to endow the Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professorship in Bioethics and Medicine. It has been held since its inception by Dr. Jeremy Sugarman, who had been the founding director of the Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities at Duke University. Dr. Sugarman’s work concentrates on informed consent, research ethics, and the ethical issues associated with emerging technologies.

Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships

Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships were established as part of a $350 million investment by Michael Bloomberg, in 2013. Fifty faculty members, ten from Johns Hopkins University and forty recruited from institutions worldwide, were chosen for these endowed professorships to create interdisciplinary connections and collaborations across the university., train and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, and strengthen the university’s leadership in research fields of international interest.

In December 2021, it was announced that the program would be doubled in size, with an additional fifty professors bringing the total to one hundred scholars.

Jessica Fanzo, PhD

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics

Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship of Food Ethics and Policy

Established in 2014 with a commitment made by Michael R. Bloomberg in the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Hanna Pickard, DPhil

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics

Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship of Philosophy and Bioethics