Vice President, Development and Alumni Affairs

Steven Rum has served as the vice president for development and alumni affairs for Johns Hopkins Medicine since 2005. With the work of approximately 200 employees, the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine — one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. — has raised an average of $380 million per year. The development effort encompasses four affiliated hospitals, 16 clinical departments, the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences and an alumni affairs department.

Under Rum’s direction, the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine raised $475 million for the Sheikh Zayed Tower and The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center. He has secured gifts of $100 million, $75 million, $65 million and $50 million to support capital projects, the creation of institutes and scholarship for medical students. In addition, Rum directed medical development for the Johns Hopkins University Knowledge for the World Campaign, in which Johns Hopkins became the first academic medical center to reach the $2 billion mark.

Rum is the founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Philanthropy Institute, which helps meet the compelling need in medical development to enhance the professional skills of senior development officers and to create a research platform for advancement of the development profession in medicine. For the first time in medical development, a research project was published in a medical journal (American Association of Medical Colleges) and cited in the prestigious journals Science and Nature. This landmark study on physician engagement is now being used to shape best practices at medical centers across the country. Through this initiative, Rum launched a national summit on the ethics of medical fundraising associated with grateful patients, physicians and institutions. This led to a published paper in AAMC and JAMA in 2018. It is the only document of its kind with guidelines for institutions and their physicians on grateful patient fundraising.

Before joining Johns Hopkins, Rum was vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs at the Duke University Medical Center and assistant vice president and chief operating officer at the Children’s National Medical Center Foundation. In his 32-year career, he has led medical institutions that have cumulatively raised over $6 billion — more than any person, it is believed, in the country.

Rum has a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and a master’s degree in administration from Ohio University. In addition, he earned a certified leadership coach certificate from Georgetown University. From 1978 to 1983, Rum played professional baseball in Italy and Japan.