In 1913, the
Rockefeller Foundation sponsored a conference on the need for public
health education in the United States. Foundation officials were convinced that a new profession of public health was needed. It would be allied to medicine but also distinct, with its own identity and educational institutions. The result of deliberations between public health leaders and foundation officials was the Welch–Rose Report of 1915, which laid out the need for adequately trained public
health workers, and envisioned an "institute of hygiene" for the United States. The report reflected the different preferences of the plan's two architects—
William Henry Welch favored
scientific research, whereas
Wickliffe Rose wanted an emphasis on public
health practice. On April 20, 2001, the school was renamed the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in honor of businessman and Hopkins alumnus
Michael Bloomberg for his financial support and commitment to the school and Johns Hopkins University. Bloomberg would later go on to serve two terms as
Mayor of New York City and run a campaign in the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The school is also the founder of
Delta Omega (est. 1924), the national honorary society for graduate training in public health.
Leaders The official title of the head of the school has changed periodically between
director and
dean throughout the years. Originally the title was director. In 1931, it was changed to dean and in 1946 back to director. In 1958, the title again became dean. The directors and deans of the Bloomberg School include: •
William H. Welch (1916–1927) •
William Henry Howell (1927–1931) •
Wade Hampton Frost (1931–1934) •
Allen W. Freeman (1934–1937) •
Lowell Reed (1937–1947) •
Ernest L. Stebbins (1947–1967) •
John C. Hume (1967–1977) •
Donald A. Henderson (1977–1990) •
Alfred Sommer (1990–2005) •
Michael J. Klag (2005–2017) •
Ellen J. MacKenzie (2017–2025) •
Keshia Pollack Porter (2025-present) ==Reputation and ranking==