the current campus and the development
of the nearby Belward Research Campus.

The anniversary event, held in the Gilchrest Hall
Auditorium, featured talks by President
William R. Brody; Isiah "Ike" Leggett, Montgomery County
executive; Michael Knapp, president of the
Montgomery County Council; Aris Melissaratos, JHU senior
adviser for enterprise development; Edgar
Roulhac, founding director of MCC and now vice provost for
academic services; and Sarah Steinberg,
associate dean of Advanced Academic Programs in the Krieger
School. Elaine Amir, executive director
for Johns Hopkins Montgomery County, served as master of
ceremonies.

The celebration began with an unconventional
performance by a local theater troupe called
Imagination Stage, which demonstrated the promise of
genetic medicine through a narrated
musical/dance sketch. The performance was followed by 11
speakers who told the story of the
campus's growth, development and future.

Jennie Forehand, Maryland state senator and one of the
first speakers of the morning event,
laudedthe visionary partnership between the state,
Montgomery County government and Johns
Hopkins to make the campus a reality.

"I am happy to say that I was there at the beginning,
working to get Johns Hopkins here. I knew
they would be a coalescing force and a catalyst for
bringing in businesses in the life sciences,"
Forehand said. "Johns Hopkins' continued presence here has
let us keep this edge in DNA Alley."

The campus's history traces back to 1983 and a series
of conferences sponsored by the
Montgomery County Commission on Higher Education in Science
and Technology, initiated by then
county executive Charles W. Gilchrist. The commission,
which included faculty and administrators
from JHU, concluded that the presence of a major research
university in Rockville would be critical
for the area's future economic stability and
development.

In 1984, Johns Hopkins conducted a feasibility study
that surveyed roughly 800 scientists