Greetings:

It is my pleasure to convey this annual financial report of The Johns Hopkins University covering fiscal year 2002.

During uncertain times it is always best to have a plan. At Johns Hopkins, we have just that. For more than a decade, the University has employed a rolling five-year financial planning system that identifies future needs and obligations, defines sources of revenues, highlights possible threats, and targets specific goals. This system has served us remarkably well since its implementation at a very painful crossroads back in 1988. And, I believe, it will continue to serve us well as we move into a future already marked by slower economic growth, one that may possibly include sustained periods of economic retrenchment in the years ahead.

Even in the worst economic times, however, the mission of the University remains clear. Education, research, and service––these are the three great pillars supporting the entire Hopkins enterprise. They are more critically important to our community, to our nation, and to the world than at any time in the recent past. This is why the continuing financial health of Johns Hopkins is of paramount importance to us all.

The following pages offer ample evidence that Hopkins remains strong and continues to advance across each of its nine divisions. In an unprecedented move unattempted at our peer institutions, we began the quiet phase of our current fundraising campaign the day after closing our phenomenally successful Johns Hopkins Initiative. The success of this effort enabled us to publicly announce the campaign a mere 22 months later –– with more than a third of our $2 billion goal already achieved. Even though Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World was a silent campaign last year, we nonetheless raised more than $373 million in commitments, our second-highest annual number ever. The continuing success of our fundraising efforts indicates the great reservoir of goodwill we enjoy from family and strangers alike, and underscores the importance of Johns Hopkins' mission to the world.

William R. Brody
President,
The Johns Hopkins University