Page 8 - Johns Hopkins School of Nursing - December 5, 2024 - Leona B. Carpenter Chair in Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

The Leona B. Carpenter
Chair in Health Equity and

Social Determinants of Health

Established in 2022 by The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter
Foundation, The Leona B. Carpenter Chair in Health Equity and Social
Determinants of Health seeks to eliminate health inequities among
communities experiencing marginalization, including underrepresented

racial, ethnic, and LGBTQIA+ groups.

The Tradition of Endowed
Chairs and Professorships

The first endowed chairs and professorships were established in Great
Britain nearly 500 years ago, with the creation of the Lady Margaret
Chairs in Divinity at Oxford and Cambridge universities. These chairs
were sponsored by Margaret, Countess of Richmond and mother of
Henry VII. In 1546, Henry VII established the Regius Professorships at
both universities in five subjects: divinity, civil law, Hebrew, Greek, and
physics. Later, private individuals joined in providing chairs, such as the
Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, which Isaac Newton held beginning in

1669. The honor associated with appointment to an endowed position
has remained unchanged since then.

At Johns Hopkins, endowed chairs and professorships are especially
important to our ongoing mission of teaching, research and service.
Endowments allow for the hiring and retention of the best faculty and
create the foundation on which our success is built. Those who hold

endowed chairs and professorships conduct some of our most
significant research, attract the best students who want to work with
acknowledged leaders, and bring considerable prestige to the Johns
Hopkins name.