Adam Falk, the James B. Knapp Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, is committed to nurturing and promoting community and diversity among the faculty, students, and staff of the Krieger School. The Krieger School’s overall goal is what it has always been, he says—“to be and remain the best small, research-intensive schools of arts and sciences in the country, second to no other.”

Toward that end, Falk is committed to a relentless pursuit of academic excellence, continued focus on enhancing the undergraduate experience, execution of a plan for building and renovating critical facilities, and fundraising. In the midst of the university’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in history, there are still several very important needs that must be met. These include an endowment for undergraduate student aid and faculty chairs, support for graduate education, and funds for the renovation of Gilman Hall, as well as science and social science facilities.

Falk, who was officially appointed dean on February 1, 2006, had served in the position on an interim basis since January 2005. A member of the Johns Hopkins physics faculty since 1994, he was promoted to associate professor after only three years at Johns Hopkins and to full professor just three years later, in 2000. In 2002, he was appointed the Krieger School's vice dean of faculty, a title that was changed to dean of faculty in 2004. He was instrumental in those positions in the formulation of the school's strategic plan and in a comprehensive reform of appointment, promotion and tenure policies in the Krieger School.

Falk is a high-energy physicist whose research focuses on elementary particle physics and quantum field theory, particularly the interactions and decay of heavy quarks. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a winner of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award. Early in his career, he won prestigious national young investigator awards from both the National Science Foundation and the Energy Department.

He graduated with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina in 1987 and earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1991, winning six awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching while a graduate student. Before coming to Hopkins, he held post-doctoral appointments at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and the University of California, San Diego, before coming to Johns Hopkins.

(A statement of Falk's view of the Krieger School's top priorities in the coming years is available on this site.)

Adam Falk James B. Knapp Dean of The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Adam Falk
James B. Knapp Dean of
The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences