Hopkins Retrospective

Here’s a little backstory on our favorite bird, Jay, for National Mascot Day. 💙

Images: A series of graphics describing the timeline of how the blue jay mascot for Johns Hopkins University came to be.

All images come from the Ferdinand Hamburger University Archives, Johns Hopkins University; Will Kirk and other university photographers; The Hub.

From the 50th to the 150th, congratulations Class of 2026!

In the pages of the 1926 Hullabaloo, a student-run yearbook from 1889 to 2015, a student from the class of 1926 reflected on their time at Hopkins and the many changes that occurred at the university and amongst themselves. The student laments, “But what did we do as a class in those four long and variegated periods of time?”.

What do you hope students 50 or 100 years from now know your class for? What are some of your favorite memories? Let us know in the comments!

Photos: The Class of 1926, Senior Class, in the Hullabaloo; The Class of 2026 poses for their first photo together as first-year students in 2022

Congratulations to our Hugh Hawkins Fellows for presenting their research! And thank you to all of the archivist and faculty mentors, family, and friends who supported them.

Suzanka Belik (Peabody, ’26) presented “An Evolving Planet: The Peabody Institute Under Climate Change” that explored how artists at the conservatory have intertwined music and environmentalism.

Yemok Jeon (SoM, ’28) presented “Fragile ‘Heroes’ Under Benevolent Control: U.S. Aid, Heroic Narratives, and the Silencing of Korean Student Doctors at Johns Hopkins, 1945-1950s”. His research touches on the experiences of three Korean students who would become trained physicians in their home country and how they were often treated with a paternalistic attitude by peers and institutional leaders.

Darrell “Riley” Stait (KSAS, ’28) presented “Web of Women: Characterizing the Realities of Homewood’s Women Through Poetry” where he performed several poems from the perspective of Harriet Chew Carroll who navigated an abusive marriage and wrestled with motherhood.

Sandy Peeples, (KSAS, ’27) presented “From Studying Africa to African Students: Tanganyika/Tanzania at Johns Hopkins 1940-1980”. She focused on her archival research on SAIS and its relationship with U.S. federal government agencies, and how these relationships influenced and directly impacted east Africa.

Tony Ye (KSAS, ’27) was not able to present, but did his research this year on “Learning Across Borders: The Hopkins-Nanjing Center and Its Role in China’s Reform and Opening Era”.

We’re proud of all they have done, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!

Photos: From left to right, fellows Suzanka Belik, Yemok Jeon, Darrel “Riley” Strait, Sandy Peeples, and Hopkins Retrospective Program Manager Allison Seyler.

APRIL 29TH AT 4:30 PM: Join us for the 2026 Harrison Lecture, exploring how history and political science developed as academic disciplines and their deep ties to the state.

Featuring Chloe Hawkey, A&S ’25 (PhD) and lecturer in history and literature at Harvard University along with Anne E. Lester, John W. Baldwin and Jenny Jochens Associate Chair of Medieval History at the Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts & Sciences in conversation with academic liaison Mackenzie Zalin, this talk revisits the legacy of Herbert Baxter Adams and the evolution of “scientific” historical study.

Reception to follow. Learn more and register now at bit.ly/makingandunmaking.

Thank you to the alumni who came on our historic campus tour this weekend! It was wonderful to have you share your stories about your own history here at the university with the group and also exciting to know everyone learned something new.

When protest is set to music, powerful things can happen! Learn about the history of activism and resistance at Homewood at this outdoor concert featuring protest songs from the 1960s and '70s.

Admission is FREE; advance registration required. Please register at https://homewood-museum.vbotickets.com/event/the_power_of_song/184390

SUNDAY AT 3:00 PM: Join the Sheridan Libraries & University Museums as we celebrate the opening of Dreams of Scholarship: 150 Years of Discovery! ✨📚✨⁠
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This exhibition at the George Peabody Library explores Johns Hopkins University’s past, present, and future through the lens of its libraries as part of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration.⁠

Register now at bit.ly/scholarshipopening!

Image: Illustration of three blue jays eating small white eggs in a tree branch (courtesy of Special Collections)