US: New president for Johns Hopkins a 'visionary'

As dean of the University of Toronto law school, Ronald J Daniels was at first criticised for having goals that were too elitist and ambitious, in essence for acting too much like an American law dean," reports the Baltimore Sun. So perhaps it is not surprising that he eventually migrated south, first to the University of Pennsylvania and now to Baltimore as the next president of the Johns Hopkins University.

Working at a public university in Canada, Daniels had to persuade the legislature to raise tuition so that he could attract faculty that would raise the caliber of the Toronto law school, said George Triantis, a professor of law at Harvard University and a friend. But that tuition increase was unpopular with students, so he patiently sat and talked to them, convincing them that he would also increase financial aid to those who could not afford the tuition.

Academicians and friends described Daniels as an extraordinary leader, a visionary who manages also to have the managerial and communication skills to accomplish his goals. The Johns Hopkins University board of trustees voted last week to name the 49-year-old Canadian-born law professor the next president of the university. He will take over March 2.
Full report on the Baltimore Sun site