Johns Hopkins University faculty and students were stunned by the death Sunday of Assistant Art History Professor Nancy Forgione from a meningococcal infection.
However, few have taken advantage of the school?s offer of preventative antibiotic treatment.
Meningitis infections in university residence halls have spurred many schools to adopt vaccination requirements, University spokesman Dennis O?Shea told The Examiner.
“It?s very serious, but very difficult to transmit,” O?Shea said. “We?re really concerned when it comes up in residential situations like a dorm or residence hall. Not so much with a faculty member coming to teach a class.”
“We expect that few, if any, students, faculty or staff will need preventive treatment with antibiotics or will need to seek medical attention,” Alain Joffe, student health director wrote in a letter sent out Dec. 2.
“Out of an abundance of caution, however, we are notifying the community and providing advice and access to clinical experts.”
“Her students were quite affected when they learned [Forgione] died Monday,” O?Shea said.
“She was a very, very well-thought-of teacher and faculty member.”
Forgione, who was planning a trip with students and staff to Provence and the French Riviera next summer, was a two-time graduate from Johns Hopkins University.
She received her bachelor?s degree in 1974, then came back and earned a Ph.D. in art history in 1993.
“For a number of years, she has been a very popular teacher,” wrote Adam Falk, James B. Knapp Dean at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Monday. “She was … the kind of person who could make your day better with just a quick conversation while passing you in the hallway.”
She is survived by her husband, Michael Hill, of the class of 1972, and their two sons.
Tentative plans are for a memorial service in the Glass Pavilion this Saturday.
