University Student Leadership & Engagement Opportunities

The Johns Hopkins University Cross-Institutional Student Advisory Committee (CSAC) is a University-wide advisory committee that serves as a forum for students to discuss academic and co-curricular matters of broad interest to the University and provide advice and counsel about such matters to the University administration. As a consultative body, CSAC shall seek to build and achieve consensus through informed, collegial deliberation. The work of the CSAC should complement but not duplicate the work of other student committees such as the Student Advisory Committee on Public Safety, PhD Advisory Committee, etc.

With an overarching goal of strengthening the culture of equity and inclusion for all people with disabilities, the Disability Inclusion Advisory Committee (DIAC) provides a forum for community input and advice to the Provost’s Office on matters pertaining to strategies, policies, and procedures that foster a community that embraces and respects disability as a component of diversity; encourages and prioritizes sustainable programmatic, communication and universal design objectives that improve the campus experience for people with disabilities; identify and make recommendations for addressing common challenges experienced by the disability community, and provide critical feedback on the implementation of specific programs and services for the disability community as well as education and training for the larger community. The DIAC will not have responsibility for day-to-day operations.

The DIAC will establish liaisons, as needed, with an array of campus partners to include student affairs, student health & well-being, academic affairs, institutional equity, diversity & inclusion, IT@JH, facilities and real estate, and general counsel as well as other offices as necessary to provide information on current policies, practices, programs, challenges, trends and assist with benchmarking.

The DIAC is a Hopkins-wide leadership group comprised of students, faculty, and staff throughout the various schools and divisions with broad representation from the Johns Hopkins community. The chair of the committee and the majority of the membership will represent the diverse lived experience of people with disabilities. Initial faculty and staff appointments to the DIAC will be for two years and members can be reappointed. Students must be currently enrolled at the university to serve on the DIAC and will serve one-year terms.

The Diversity Leadership Council, established in 1997, identifies faculty, staff, and students to serve on the DLC. Our council advises the president and senior leadership on diversity issues and is charged to:

• Recommend and promote policies, programs and other initiatives that will attract and retain a diverse mix of faculty, staff and students;
• Examine formal and informal structures and processes that inhibit Johns Hopkins from being more inclusive and recommend changes that foster greater inclusion;
• Promote diversity awareness education across Johns Hopkins;
• Foster partnerships with Baltimore community leaders to encourage greater community involvement by various divisions of Johns Hopkins Institutions.

The DLC meets once a month. Membership, which is for one- to three-year terms, requires a commitment to working with fellow DLC members and stakeholders across Johns Hopkins. Joining the DLC is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in advancing diversity and inclusion at Hopkins. DLC members are expected to:

• Attend 75% of meetings and events scheduled every month for two hours;
• Prepare for meetings by reviewing the agenda and supporting materials prior to meetings;
• Participate in meetings by asking questions, taking responsibility, and following through on assignments

The Hopkins Student Center Advisory Committee is comprised of faculty, staff and student representatives from across the University. Eight seats on the committee are reserved for students; two of these 8 spots are reserved for members of Homewood student government (1 SGA, 1 GRO). Undergraduate and graduate students from any Hopkins school are encouraged to apply. Students selected to serve on the committee will play a key role in development and implementation of a broad student engagement strategy. Please visit the Hopkins Student Center page for more information.

Join an advisory council of key university leaders to ensure broad engagement in the ongoing efforts of student registration and ballot access. Participants will review the Hopkins Votes strategy as well as past voting reports, and provide input on additional ways university departments are able to impact the nonpartisan campaign. The council will meet monthly with intermitting communication occurring for specific initiatives. Please visit the Hopkins Votes website for more information.

The PhD Education Student Advisory Committee is a new, university-wide committee that is being launched in the fall of 2018. It will be comprised of PhD students from across JHU. The PhD student advisory committee will provide guidance to the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education, offering student perspectives on a variety of ongoing initiatives and issues relevant to PhD education at Johns Hopkins. Issues to be discussed, for example, will include best practices for PhD student mentoring, building professional development opportunities for PhD students, university-wide requirements for the PhD, and ways to further foster an inclusive climate. The PhD student advisory board will be a complement to the University-Wide Doctor of Philosophy Board, which also includes three PhD student members. It will allow even more concentrated input from students, however, on matters relevant to PhD education at Johns Hopkins. The PhD student advisory board will have 11 members: two members from each of the four larger PhD granting schools (BSPH, KSAS, SOM, WSE) and one from each of the three smaller PhD granting schools (SAIS, SOE, SON). The Homewood Graduate Representative Organization, BSPH Student Assembly, and School of Medicine Graduate Student Assembly will each be asked to nominate one member for the committee from BSPH, KSAS, SOM, and WSE. The other member from each of those schools will be selected from self-nominations, as will the member from SAIS, SOE, and SON. The committee will meet approximately every 6-8 weeks for 1.5 hours. Remote participation in the meetings is possible for those who are not easily able to join in person, although in-person participation may be desirable.

The Johns Hopkins University Police Accountability Board, unique both in Maryland and throughout the country, empowers community members from JHU and the surrounding neighborhoods to help directly shape the development and operation of the future Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD). Recommended by the University based on community input and research into best practices among police departments nationally and adopted into law by the General Assembly, the Board is a crucial element in ensuring the success of the JHPD.

Accountability Board members are statutorily charged with:

• Sharing community feedback directly with JHPD leadership;
• Reviewing JHPD metrics involving crime; and
• Assessing current and prospective department policies, procedures, and training in order to provide recommendations for improvement.
• The Accountability Board must meet at least quarterly and hold at least one public meeting each year to seek input on JHPD policies, procedures, and training from community members of Baltimore City. Its meeting minutes must be posted prominently on a website available to the public.

To learn more about the JHU Police Accountability Board, visit the Public Safety Initiatives website.

The Johns Hopkins University Presidential Management Fellowship is a highly-selective year-long fellowship for recent and soon-to-be Johns Hopkins graduates interested in learning about the management of a large, complex and dynamic institution and who desire to grow professionally and personally. Fellows will have a front-row seat to learn about decision-making at one of the largest employers in the state (and a top ten-ranked U.S. university) and will gain indispensable experience in the management and governance of a worldwide leader in research and education.

A cohort of select recent graduates from among the Johns Hopkins schools will be embedded within University Administration departments and will operate as internal consultants/advisors whose work informs decision-making by senior leadership on a wide range of financial strategy, management strategy, policy and/or other high priority projects. Fellows will provide analytic capacity and project leadership, engage with key stakeholders, and develop and present materials to communicate key findings and recommendations to university leadership. Fellows will also participate in a customized professional development curriculum and attend small group discussion sessions with top university leaders.

The Provost’s Advisory Team on Healthcare (PATH) for Graduate Students and Postdocs is a working group of graduate student representatives, faculty members, and administrators that advises the Provost and President on improvements to health care benefits for Johns Hopkins University graduate students and postdocs. There are seven student and postdoc representatives on PATH, reflecting our diverse student body and the variety of Hopkins schools. Kevin Shollenberger, Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being, chairs the committee, which is convened quarterly throughout the academic year.

Our responsibility as a university community is twofold: 1) educating members of our community about sexual violence with the intention of preventing sexual violence, and 2) creating structures and systems that support members of our community who are impacted by sexual violence, including survivors of sexual assault. In May 2014, Johns Hopkins University established a university-wide Sexual Violence Advisory Committee as part of our ongoing commitment to address issues related to sexual violence. With these objectives at the forefront, the SVAC has been charged with examining our current efforts in these two areas and providing guidance on new initiatives and protocols for implementation at the university. The SVAC is comprised of students, faculty, and staff. This broad representation reflects the importance of the issue and the shared responsibility all members of our community have for preventing and addressing sexual violence.

Please visit the SVAC website to learn more about the committee, its charge, and guiding principles. The SVAC has both undergraduate and graduate student members, chosen from applicants across all the JHU schools. The committee meets approximately 9–10 times annually for one-hour meetings. Remote participation in the meetings is possible for those who are not easily able to join in person.

About the SNF Agora Institute

The SNF Agora Institute is a multi-disciplinary academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy by improving and expanding civic engagement and inclusive dialogue, and by supporting inquiry that leads to real-world change. By building integrated partnerships with scholars, practitioners, students, and the public, we use research to identify and sharpen strategic choices that people around the world can make to realize the promise of democracy. We draw our name and inspiration from the ancient Athenian agora, a central space in the life of the city that became a place of open conversation and debate for all citizens.

About the SNF Agora Student Engagement Board

The SNF Agora Student Engagement Board was founded in fall 2019. Each year, SNF Agora selects a cohort of Johns Hopkins students to serve on the board. Board members are selected in the spring to serve during the following academic year. Incoming freshmen may apply for the opportunity at the beginning of the fall semester.

The Student Engagement Board meets monthly throughout the fall and spring semesters. Board members are expected to commit approximately 4 to 5 hours of their time each month. Participation is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Board members will serve a one-year term that will be renewable upon mutual agreement.

The Student Engagement Board works with SNF Agora faculty, staff, and leadership both to raise awareness about and participate in the development of our mission and presence on campus and in the broader community. Additionally, in an ongoing capacity, board members:

• Provide insights on ways that SNF Agora can embed/become relevant to the larger student population
• Serve as SNF Agora ambassadors on campus, including leading efforts to engage relevant student groups, programs, etc.
• Connect SNF Agora with students for collaborations, outreach, engagement
• Support efforts to create SNF Agora programming, events, and activities for broader community
• Provide support for marketing and production of SNF Agora’s events and other activities
• Engage in select focus groups to provide student perspective on projects (such as the design of the new building with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the development of relevant curricular and extracurricular offerings, specific program efforts, etc.)
• Have access/opportunity to engage with SNF Agora visitors, faculty, distinguished scholars, and fellows for special events, dinners, etc.
• Provide mentorship to new members and potential members of the Student Engagement Board
• Act as SNF Agora student representatives for meetings with faculty, trustees, elected officials, policy makers, and others

The Student Services Excellence Initiative team works on a variety of projects to improve student service delivery in administrative areas at JHU. We also work with designers and IT to improve the Hopkins digital experience related to these services across our diverse campuses.

As the Student Services Excellence Initiative works to implement changes in the effort to improve the student experience at Johns Hopkins, we have established an SSEI Student Advisory Committee to ensure the student voice is heard in decisions that might affect their experience at Hopkins. We are seeking broad representation of students across all divisions, levels, and backgrounds to serve as committee members—undergraduate and graduate students from all schools are encouraged to apply.

Advisory committee members will be required to attend at least 4 committee events per calendar year, and will also be asked to help with communications campaigns to get the word out about changes that will impact the student experience. Events can include meetings, design sessions, virtual demos and focus groups; events will be held virtually for the foreseeable future.

If you have opinions and thoughts about how technology is used at JHU, and if you’re interested in learning more about UX design and the design thinking process—this committee is for you!

Any questions about this committee may be directed to Kim Le at kle8@jhu.edu.

The Johns Hopkins University Student Advisory Committee for Public Safety (SAC) is a university-wide advisory committee that serves as a forum for students to discuss public safety matters of broad interest to the University with the Vice President for Public Safety. As a consultative body, the SAC shall seek to provide feedback and recommendations to the Vice President for Public Safety through informed and collegial discussions. The committee broadly represents Johns Hopkins University undergraduate and graduate students and reflects the diversity of the university community.

All students (undergraduate and graduate) from all JHU campuses are invited to apply, as the goal is for the Committee to broadly represent Johns Hopkins University and reflect the diversity of the university community. The group will hold two meetings per year (Fall and Spring), with an introductory meeting in the summer. Please note that students serving on the JHPD Accountability Board are not eligible to serve concurrently on the Student Advisory Committee.

The Sustainability Leadership Council (SLC), established on Earth Day 2019, convenes student, faculty, and staff representatives from across Johns Hopkins’ schools and divisions to advise the university’s leadership on a wide range of issues surrounding sustainability and climate change. SLC representatives work to recommend and promote policies, programs, and other initiatives that build a greater role for Johns Hopkins in sustainability teaching, leadership, research, and practice, both locally and globally.

The SLC is comprised of four committees: Research & Academics, Environmental Justice, Engagement, and Operations. Each committee is supported by multiple working groups and their focus can be found below:

• Research & Academics Committee: seeks to build bridges and identify synergies between current and evolving academic offerings, facilitate collaboration between programs, and strengthen JHU’s role in preparing graduates for leadership and careers in environmental sustainability.
• Environmental Justice Committee: works to mitigate the unfair exposure of poor, marginalized, and BIPOC communities to harms associated with pollution and supporting communities’ autonomy and visions of change through various initiatives on the JHU campuses, in the greater Baltimore community, and beyond.
• Operations Committee: coordinates initiatives to improve the environmental footprint of daily operational and business practices of Johns Hopkins across all areas including energy, waste, food, water, transportation, wellness, procurement, and more.
• Engagement Committee: works to identify programs and strategies that foster sustainable behavior change among individuals at Johns Hopkins, enhance sustainability literacy and awareness, and strengthen strategic communications to improve information sharing.

Student SLC members are invited to serve a one-year term and are expected to attend monthly committee meetings, a general body meeting in the fall semester, and an annual symposium in the spring. Students who wish to remain on the council past their initial one-year term must submit their intention to return to sustainability@jhu.edu by the nomination deadline. Continuing membership will be decided based on the student’s proven ability to meet participation expectations and serve as an ambassador to the broader student body.