Kurt Herzer Chosen For Presidential Search Committee

Appointing a president is the legal responsibility of the Board of Trustees, and it is the most important of all of the board's fiduciary responsibilities. However, because Hopkins is an academic community,and because the perspectives of the entire community are highly relevant to its deliberations, the newly formed Presidential Search Committee includes trustees, two faculty members, a graduate student, an undergraduate student, and a staff member. The undergraduate student selected to represent his peers is Kurt Herzer, a junior undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University. Kurt has been working in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine with Dr. Lynette Mark for several years on a number of Perioperative Safety initiatives centered in the Weinberg Operating Rooms.

Kurt, a native of Long Island, N.Y. who is a 2008 Truman Scholar and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, focuses his research on patient safety and quality improvement both nationally and internationally.

One of his articles, "Designing and Implementing a Comprehensive Quality and Patient Safety Management Model: A Paradigm for Perioperative Improvement," will be published in the coming year. His co-authors are Lynette J. Mark, MD, James D. Michelson, MD, Laurie A. Saletnik, RN, and Christina A. Lundquist, MHS. Kurt has also served on the university-wide Diversity Leadership Council, reflecting his interest in diversity issues and students with disabilities. As a search committee member, Kurt and his fellow committee members are charged with serving the interests of the entire institution by helping the University to recruit the very best leader to serve as the next President.