Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Executive Vice Dean and Professor Robert (Bob) Atkins, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been named the next Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor.
“Dr. Bob Atkins is a visionary leader with an unrivaled ability to inspire action,” says JHSON Dean Sarah Szanton, PhD, RN, FAAN. “His installation as an endowed professor formally acknowledges both his leadership in redesigning the path to 21st century nursing education, and his drive to achieve health for all people.”
Dr. Atkins will inherit the seat from Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, who was installed in 1993 as the inaugural Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor.
Dr. Campbell is a global leader in research and advocacy for violence against women and a “Living Legend” of the American Academy of Nursing. She is best known for developing the Danger Assessment, which helps abused women determine their level of danger. The tool has driven national policy, has been cited in four National Academy of Medicine reports, and is in use by front line health care and/or law enforcement professionals in 49 states and internationally.
The Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor was funded by nursing alumni, family, and friends united by their admiration for Anna D. Wolf.
Wolf was a 1915 graduate of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Training School and went on to become director of the school from 1940 to 1955. She was also the first dean of the first college-level nursing program in China, Peking Union Medical College School of Nursing, and a staunch advocate of raising nursing education to the baccalaureate level. Wolf laid the groundwork for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and BSN program, which opened in 1984, a year before her death.
“Anna D. Wolf was an extraordinary leader in nursing education, known for having an amazing vision of what is possible, and for having exacting high standards and a caring heart,” says, Dr. Campbell. “Dr. Atkins exemplifies that legacy with charisma.”
Dr. Bob Atkins has been Executive Vice Dean of the School of Nursing since 2022. His work improves our systems to foster an inclusive school community that advances diversity, equity, and inclusion. His work also focuses our efforts to turn research into practice, and practice into meaningful policy that has the greatest impact for sustainable health for all people.
Dr. Atkins has spent most of his career working to improve the health and well-being of marginalized children and families living in distressed neighborhoods. He began his career as a school nurse in Camden, New Jersey, an experience that led him to co-found the Camden STARR Program, a non-profit youth development program dedicated to improving the life chances of local youth. It also led him to pursue a career in research, and he has held leadership roles with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rutgers University.
“Right now, nursing and nursing education has the opportunity for a true leap forward,” says Dr. Atkins. “I am honored to be the next Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor, with the resources to maximize our impact.”
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Located in Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing is a globally-recognized leader in nursing education, research, and practice. In U.S. News & World Report rankings, the school is No. 1 nationally for its DNP program and No. 2 for its master’s. In addition, JHSON is ranked as the No. 3 nursing school in the world by QS World University. The school is a five-time recipient of the INSIGHT Into Diversity Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award and a four-time Best School for Men in Nursing award recipient. For more information, visit www.nursing.jhu.edu.
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