May 18 , 2006

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to report that the university's trustees have approved my appointment of Michael C. Eicher, one of the nation's leading advancement professionals, as vice president for development and alumni relations.

Mr. Eicher will assume responsibility for our relationship with alumni and friends of the university and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and for attracting private support for our mission of putting knowledge to work for the good of humanity.

Mike Eicher is vice chancellor for external affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he led a recently concluded 10-year campaign that drew $3.05 billion in private gifts. That amount is, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a record for a single campaign in higher education. Gifts to the UCLA campaign supported 30,000 scholarships and fellowships. They also included more than $630 million for new facilities and renovations and about $1.7 billion for research, health care and other medical programs. The campaign's initial goal was $1.2 billion.

Mike has been at UCLA for nearly 20 years, joining the university in 1986 as associate director of development in the School of Medicine. Successful at every level, he has risen steadily at the university, to vice provost for medical science development, to assistant and associate vice chancellor and, in 1998, to his current position.

The committee I charged with identifying Bob Lindgren's successor concluded that Mike Eicher is the right choice for Johns Hopkins. I fully concur, and am delighted that Mike has determined that Johns Hopkins is the right choice for him at this point in his career.

Mike, who joins us Sept. 1, will have the benefit of working with one of the most successful and professional advancement staffs and one of the most dedicated volunteer leadership networks anywhere. Under the leadership of Bob Lindgren -- and, since Bob's departure, Charlie Phlegar -- the staff and volunteers have recorded extraordinary accomplishments, including the recent surpassing of the $2 billion goal of the "Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World" campaign.

With Mike's arrival, I know that Johns Hopkins will continue to make a strong and effective case for the vital work that you -- our faculty, students, health care professionals and staff -- do every day.

I know you join me in welcoming Mike and his wife, Inez, to the Johns Hopkins community. My thanks go to Senior Vice President Jim McGill and the entire search committee for their work. And my very special thanks to Charlie Phlegar, who is providing outstanding interim leadership in Development and Alumni Relations and will continue to do so through the summer.

Additional information on Mike Eicher will be found in the May 22 issue of the Gazette, which will also be available online next week at http://www.jhu.edu/gazette.

Sincerely,

William R. Brody