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BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXCELLENCE CELEBRATION

Celebrating Excellence, Empowering Futures

About the Event

The Black History Month Excellence Celebration is an empowering and transformative event that provides unparalleled value by celebrating the exceptional achievements of Black scholars and professionals and their contributions to elevating our full society. Initiated through collaboration with the Doctoral Life Design Studio and the Whiting School of Engineering, and with the Office of the Provost as a partner, this event serves as a unique platform for engagement, learning, meaningful community-building, and connection among JHU doctoral students and postdocs. This event is open to the full Johns Hopkins University community, and everyone is welcome to attend.

See Full Agenda

Our 2026 Theme

Seeds of Joy: Cultivating Community to Build Strong Futures for All

The Black History Month Excellence Celebration aims to shine a light on the ways in which joy and community are foundational to Black excellence and its substantive positive impact on our full society. This theme celebrates the sustaining moments of connection, delight, and success that can be found in academia and community engagement, with learnings from which everyone can benefit. Bringing together the JHU community in celebration, we are planting seeds for an abundant future where doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars across JHU will not only thrive but also make meaningful contributions that will benefit all communities for generations to come.

02.24.2026 | 4:00 – 9:00 P.M.


The Garage at R. House
301 W 29th St
Baltimore, MD

reserve your seat

Agenda for the Day

4:00 – 4:20 P.M. | Refreshments and Opening Engagement

4:20 – 4:30 P.M. | Welcome by Associate Vice Provost Damani Piggott

Kick off the event with welcoming remarks that set the tone for a night dedicated to empowerment, joy, and shared connections.

4:30 – 5:45 P.M. | Keynote and Q+A

Hear Dr. Tanjala Purnell (PhD ‘12), Associate Professor of Cardiovascular and Clinical Epidemiology at JHU, speak about her career and work elevating communities through dedicated stakeholder-engaged interventions.

5:45 – 6:30 P.M. | Building Community

Participate in a series of engaging activities designed to strengthen cross-institutional relationships and foster a sense of belonging among attendees.

6:30 – 6:45 P.M. | Closing Remarks

Reflect on the sustaining moments of connection, delight, and success that are key to thriving in academia and beyond.

6:45 – 9:00 P.M. | Celebratory Reception

Close the day by celebrating the Johns Hopkins community of doctoral and postdoctoral scholars over food, drinks, and music.

Our 2026 Keynote

Dr. Tanjala Purnell is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Track Director of Cardiovascular and Clinical Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. She has joint faculty appointments in the Departments of Surgery, Health Policy and Management, and Health Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins. She has expertise in research to promote kidney and cardiometabolic health and access to transplantation, and she has received several research honors, including the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Excellence in Transplantation Award.

Dr. Purnell is an Executive Editor for the international Transplantation journals. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, the Governing Board for the Infinite Legacy Foundation, and the NKF Spring Clinical Meeting Planning Committee. She is also the Director of Education for the Johns Hopkins Brancati Center for the Advancement of Community Care, Co-Lead of the Northeast Hub for the AIM-AHEAD Artificial Intelligence National Consortium, and Director of the Investigator Development Core for the Mid-Atlantic Center for Cardiometabolic Health.

In addition to being a JHU alumna, Dr. Purnell is an alumna of HBCU Tougaloo College where she received her B.S. in Computer Science. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a native of the Mississippi Delta. She is married to Mr. Doyin Idowu.

Celebratory Reception

Find joy and community over dinner and a party!

We will have delicious food and drinks from the following local Baltimore businesses:

  • Xquisite Catering
  • r. bar for cocktails, beer, and wine

Additionally, there will be music and dancing with a DJ, photo opportunities, and games.

We will have a bus taking people from the East Baltimore and Homewood campuses to R. House starting at 3pm.

The bus taking people back to the Homewood and East Baltimore campuses from R. House will depart at 9:15 P.M.

R. House ⟶ BSC ⟶ IC ⟶ CRB ⟶ BSPH ⟶ 720 Rutland Avenue