It’s Time to Get Hopping

In the SON’s own little moving game of musical chairs, it seems quite fitting that the fiddle-playing Frog would get his turn.

This week, the friendly green face that has greeted—and comforted—so many generations of students in our beloved Courtyard left its toadstool perch for a few moments to take up residence in the shaded glen of the Student House. In line with the courtesy, patience, and understanding shown by our faculty, students and staff during the recent office-space shuffle, the Frog offered no complaints.

With its original donors—Townsend and Bob Kent—on hand to plant flowers around the Frog, Tuesday became another moving day in the history of the school. The Kents purchased the Frog to honor nurses who cared for their young daughter in the days after an accident that led to her death. The Frog has since become a favorite among the statues across Johns Hopkins University.

We virtually broke ground on the $45 million expansion and renovation of the Anne M. Pinkard building in June with a virtual tour movie screening and dinner event. The new, expanded Anne M. Pinkard building will have 65,810 total square feet of space; its design is geared toward strengthened research, graduate level education, and community engagement.

And so, with even the Frog settling into a new “work” area, you know it’s time for the real construction to begin. As we shared earlier this week, the SON House will come down this month, and construction materials will appear in the Courtyard. Our big push toward the Future of Nursing begins in earnest. On to 2020!

In other words, it’s time to get hopping.