The Johns Hopkins Committee to Establish Principles on Naming (CEPN), convened in 2020, was charged with developing substantive criteria and a process for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine to use to decide whether to rename or de-name a Johns Hopkins facility, professorship, scholarship, or other program, as well as other options beyond renaming and de-naming.
Composed of Johns Hopkins community members from across six divisions and institutes, CEPN met numerous times during the 2020-2021 academic year to review best practices of peer institutions and sought input from a broad range of student, faculty, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders over the course of eleven listening sessions.
After taking community feedback on a draft report posted in April 2021, CEPN submitted its final report to Johns Hopkins leadership in May, and at their June and October 2021 meetings respectively, the Johns Hopkins University, Medicine, Hospital and Health System Boards of Trustees approved the Committee’s recommendations, including the establishment of a permanent Name Review Board (NRB).
The NRB applies the values of Johns Hopkins University & Medicine and the criteria articulated by CEPN in its report as it fields requests to rename or de-name existing institutional features. All named features associated with the University and Health System, including named buildings, monuments, artwork, or programs, will be eligible for examination through the NRB process, and any Johns Hopkins student, faculty, staff, alumnus, patient, and/or any resident of the local community may make a proposal to reconsider a current named feature on any Hopkins campus.
**While any named feature may be submitted to the NRB, those proposals that concern the academic work of a sitting faculty member will be sent through a different process — which can be found here. Moreover, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity for matters related to discrimination or harassment. OIE leads the University’s efforts to foster an environment that is inclusive, respectful and free from discrimination and harassment. In its role, OIE ensures compliance with affirmative action and equal opportunity laws, investigates discrimination and sexual harassment complaints, and serves as a central resource for those with disabilities or those who require religious accommodation.
Before submitting a proposal, please review the CEPN Report (PDF), which includes principles, procedures and considerations, as well as the NRB process (PDF).
If your proposal requires additional information, you will receive an email from the NRB. You also will be notified once your proposal is complete. Then, you may expect to hear from the NRB within four to six weeks of your submission with a status update. Please note, name(s) of submitter(s) will, absent unusual circumstances, not be revealed or posted during the process.
A note regarding the NRB process timeline: Volunteers who serve on the NRB take their charge seriously, and, since its inception, members of the NRB have engaged in difficult and thoughtful deliberations. Therefore, please know that submitted proposals may take a year or more to reach conclusion. The NRB office staff will provide status updates to proposal submitters when applicable.
If you have any questions, please email namereviewboard@jhu.edu.
Active and Validated Proposals
Only those proposals under consideration by the NRB Formal Review Committee will appear below. In addition, while the names themselves are public, the NRB deliberation process is confidential.
| Name | Status / Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Caroline Donovan Professorship in English | Remove Name |
| Woodrow Wilson (3 named proposals submitted) | Under Formal Review Committee Review |
| Gildersleeve Professorship in Classics | Under Formal Review Committee Review |
Submissions Dashboard
Data as of 2/7/2024
- Number of Proposals Submitted: 9
- Number of Proposals Reviewed by the NRB Executive Committee: 6 (3 in progress)
- Number of Proposals Reviewed by the NRB Formal Review Committee: 1 (4 in progress)
- Number of Written Recommendations Issued: 1
Name Review Board Meeting/Communication Timeline
As of 2/7/2024
- January 23, 2024 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- November 6, 2023 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- September 18, 2023 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- Summer Break
- June 7, 2023 – NRB Executive Committee Trustees Update Board on NRB
- March 27, 2023 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- February 20, 2023 – NRB Formal Review Committee Meeting
- December 20, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- December 15, 2022: NRB members receive research/materials
- December 19, 2022 – NRB Formal Review Committee Meeting
- November 12, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee receives update on a proposal submission
- November 11, 2022 – NRB Formal Review Committee Meeting
- November 8, 2022: NRB members receive new/updated research/materials
- October 31, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee receives update on a proposal submission
- August 22, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- August 19, 2022: NRB members receive new/updated research/materials
- July 25, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- May 26, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- May 20, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- May 16, 2022: NRB members receive new/updated research/materials
- April 1, 2022 – NRB Executive Committee Meeting
- March 25, 2022: NRB members receive new/updated research/materials
- January 19, 2022 – NRB Orientation Meeting (for Executive Committee members and Divisional Clusters)
- January 14, 2022: NRB members receive pre-read materials
- December 2021 – January 2023 – Identification and Selection of NRB Executive Committee and Divisional Clusters
- December 10, 2021 – NRB website launches
