Berman Institute 25th Anniversary Celebration Postponed

June 17, 2020

Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics announced that its yearlong 25th anniversary commemoration has been suspended for the remainder of 2020 and will resume in 2021.

“Our marking of the Berman Institute’s 25th anniversary will be an opportunity to celebrate, reflect upon, and share the Institute’s important achievements and leadership in bioethics, but we should do so only when we have overcome the pandemic” said Jeffrey P. Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Institute.

“The quality, range of topics, and impact of the Berman Institute’s response to the pandemic demonstrate that our work is more vital than ever before. These ongoing efforts will add another very meaningful chapter in our history to commemorate.”

A number of the previously scheduled 25th anniversary events will be moved into 2021, including a bioethics documentary film series, a New York City event focusing on gene editing technologies, a university-wide Bioethics Month, a gala celebration, and anniversary editions of existing programs including the Berman Institute Seminar Series and Freeman Family Ethics for Lunch programs. Additional new events, some with a focus on ethics and the pandemic, are being planned. Details will be shared as schedules are set.

“Whenever we are eventually able to mark this important anniversary, it is the Berman Institute’s historic and ongoing impact that truly matters. Even as public health protections mean that we’ll continue to work at a distance, we are grateful to be able to contribute our expertise to help in the response,” said Kahn.

To learn more about the Berman Institute’s history and achievements, read its 25-year retrospective, “Putting Ethics Into Action.”