August 1, 2011

SAIS Dean Jessica Einhorn to retire in June 2012

Jessica P. Einhorn, dean of The Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, will retire at the end of the coming academic year, she announced today.

Einhorn, the first SAIS graduate to serve as its dean, will step down on June 30, 2012, after a decade as leader of one of the nation’s most prominent graduate professional schools of international relations.

“Dean Einhorn has had an impact on the school that will last long beyond her departure,” said Ronald J. Daniels, president of the university. “I have no doubt that Jessica’s purposeful, open and respectful leadership is in large measure why SAIS is so strong today and so well-prepared for tomorrow. “

Daniels praised Einhorn for her focus on the student experience and for her support for the faculty and its research activities. He also noted that Einhorn reached out to SAIS alumni worldwide, modernized the school’s administration and expanded student opportunities for learning outside the classroom through internships, study trips and other activities.

She oversaw the introduction, in collaboration with Nanjing University, of the first master’s degree program in international studies in China, offered at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies. She also worked to position the school’s Bologna Center in Italy in the changing European market for higher education.

Einhorn joined Johns Hopkins after nearly 20 years with the World Bank, including service as managing director in charge of the bank’s financial management and, earlier, as vice president and treasurer. She also spent a year as a visiting fellow at the International Monetary Fund and has held positions at the Treasury and State departments and the International Development Cooperation Agency of the United States.

“Coming to SAIS from the World Bank was a big culture change for me—but it was also a homecoming, more than 30 years after being a student here,” Einhorn said. “The concentric circles of faculty, other Hopkins deans and the Homewood administration welcomed and supported me throughout my tenure at SAIS. This last year will be dedicated to working with my colleagues on our three campuses to assure as seamless a transition as possible.”

Einhorn earned a master of arts from SAIS in 1970. She is a 1967 graduate of Barnard College and earned a doctorate in politics from Princeton University in 1974.