Top Hopkins honor is given to Rawlings

Accolades: The university awards the influential city delegate its President's Medal for being a 'champion' of higher
education.

By David Nitkin
Sun Staff

June 3, 2003

Receiving one of the top honors bestowed by the Johns Hopkins University, Del. Howard P. Rawlings of Baltimore was heralded last night as a public official who
puts principle ahead of popularity in leading efforts to improve city schools and boost university campuses.

"I've worked with Pete for seven years. I've come to recognize he is an extraordinary public servant," said Hopkins President William R. Brody, describing his
choice of Rawlings to receive the university's President's Medal. "He's bright, he's talented and he's willing to step up and do what is right even in the face of
tremendous pressure."

Rawlings accepted the medal -- bestowed previously on heads of state, diplomats, literary figures and others whom the university president believes have
"achieved unusual distinction" -- surrounded by family, friends and colleagues at the Hopkins Club on the Homewood campus.

Rawlings, 66, is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a post that allows him to wield tremendous power over the state budget and set policy. His
supporters said he has used that influence to boost education.

Colleagues say Rawlings has often bucked opposition to cling tenaciously to unpopular decisions over the years, such as forcing the state to divest holdings in
South Africa, withholding funds from poorly performing Baltimore schools or supporting state oversight of the city education system.

"It's easy to take risks when you come from a strong family and you've been raised in the projects with such good values," Rawlings said.

While the award recognizes Rawlings' commitment to higher education, state leaders say that he has left a lasting imprint on all levels of schooling.

"He's so deserving. He is extraordinary in terms of being a catalyst for insisting on a high-quality of education for all students," said state schools Superintendent
Nancy S. Grasmick. "I don't think there's a person more willing to accept any consequence that all children have a quality education."

Rawlings' personal history illustrates the values of learning.

The son of a postal worker and raised in the city's then-new Edgar Allan Poe public housing project, he earned degrees in mathematics from what is now Morgan
State University and the University of Wisconsin.

He studied for his doctorate at University of Maryland, College Park, but left before finishing his thesis. One of his teachers at Maryland was William E. Kirwan, who is now chancellor of
the University System of Maryland.

"My claim to fame is I taught him complex analysis," Kirwan said, adding that Rawlings received a pair of A's in those courses. "I always like to say that mathematics' loss is our state's
gain. He's made such a contribution in a more comprehensive way."

Rawlings has played a role in most of Maryland's important educational decisions for at least the past 15 years. He helped write a 1988 law that reformed the structure of the state
university system, played a pivotal role in the 1997 state takeover of city schools and helped develop the landmark formula for equalizing funding across richer and poorer jurisdictions
adopted by the General Assembly in 2002.

"That's why he's the champion," said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh of Baltimore. "He'll take on any fight if it's right."

Rawlings is known for using his rolling baritone voice and imposing physical presence to get what he wants.

Brody said Rawlings berated him during their introductory meeting for a Hopkins decision to build two cancer center buildings instead of one -- costing the state more money.

"He glowered down at me and said Hopkins did a bait-and-switch," Brody said. "After I came to watch Pete in action, I came to realize this was tough love."

Rawlings, even while struggling with health problems, has evolved into one of the leading kingmakers of city politics. His early support was considered instrumental in Martin O'Malley's
victory in the 1999 mayoral race, and many up-and-coming politicians have learned from him.

"Pete's a teacher, and he's done a great job teaching all of us how to be leaders," said Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat. "He makes us better citizens. He makes us better
people."

Rawlings' public schedule has been constrained of late while he receives chemotherapy for bladder cancer that has spread. The treatments left him too weak to participate in some of the
General Assembly's budget debates this year.

"It's a necessary evil," he said yesterday. "My body gets tired."

Still, Rawlings received praise from House Speaker Michael E. Busch for making tough budget cuts. "People acknowledge Pete to be one of the most knowledgeable legislators in
Annapolis, bar none," Busch said.

Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun