News Release

Adam F. Falk

Adam F. Falk, a Johns Hopkins University faculty member since 1994, has been appointed the James B. Knapp Dean of the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Falk, a theoretical physicist, will officially assume the position on Feb. 1. He has been acting dean of the university's oldest school since January 2005.

President William R. Brody, who recommended the appointment to the university's board of trustees, said that Falk was the clear choice in a national search that yielded several very strong finalists.

"Adam stood out for the strength and clarity of his commitment to excellence, his firm grasp of the challenges and opportunities facing the school, and his proven ability to tackle important issues and to win the deep respect of all his colleagues," Brody said. "I believe that Adam has the values, skills, and experience to help the Krieger School build on its considerable strengths and rise to an even higher level of national prominence."

Falk, 40, was promoted to associate professor after only three years at Johns Hopkins and to full professor just three years later, in 2000. In 2002, he was appointed the Krieger School's vice dean of faculty, a title that was changed to dean of faculty in 2004. He was instrumental in formulation of the school's strategic plan and in a comprehensive reform of appointment, promotion and tenure policies in the Krieger School.

Falk said that an important part of a dean's role is to bring people together for a common purpose.

"The difference between a university and a group of students with a bookstore — or a group of people sitting at their computers — is the interactions that people have," he said. "The purpose of a school is to bring people together around the work that they do. It's a very high priority for me to — through programs, appointments and architecture — nurture and promote community and diversity in the Krieger School."

The Krieger School's overall goal is what it has always been, he said: "To be and remain the best small, research- intensive school of arts and sciences in the country; faculty member for faculty member and student for student, to be second to no other."

The dean's role in pursuit of that goal, Falk said, includes a relentless pursuit of academic excellence, continued focus on enhancing the undergraduate experience, execution of a plan for building and renovating critical facilities, and fund raising.

"We're in the middle of the most ambitious campaign in the history of the school," Falk said. "As successful as it has been, there are very important unmet — or incompletely met — needs." Chief among those, he said, are endowment for undergraduate student aid and faculty chairs, support for graduate education, and funds for the renovation of Gilman Hall as well as science and social science facilities.

Falk is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a winner of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award. Early in his career, he won prestigious national young investigator awards from both the National Science Foundation and the Energy Department.

He graduated with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina in 1987 and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1991. He held post-doctoral appointments at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and the University of California, San Diego, before coming to Johns Hopkins.

Note: Photo available. Contact Dennis O'Shea at (443) 287-9960 or dro@jhu.edu.