MORTON J. MACKS

Morton J. Macks ’44 Morty Macks has been an innovative and successful builder/developer for over 60 years.

A dedicated and lifelong Baltimorean, he graduated in 1944 from Johns Hopkins with a degree in Civil Engineering.

After serving with a Navy construction battalion in Okinawa during World War II, Macks returned to Baltimore and began to build shelter housing. In 1960, Macks purchased a portion of the Maryland Housing Corporation. After completing this deal, he eventually bought out the other shareholders and began shipping manufactured housing all over the East Coast. In 1969, after selling his company, he launched a new business, Macks Homes.

Over nearly 60 years, Macks and his children have built approximately 30,000 homes, over 4,000 apartments, and nearly 1,000,000 square feet of retail space. His achievements include: the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Home Builders Association of Maryland; founding “Parade of Homes” and the Home Builders Institute; and being nominated as Home Builder of the Year on two occasions. The Macks family’s generous philanthropy and service have benefited countless local, national, and international organizations. Macks continues to serve his company, the industry, and his community in numerous leadership roles.

POOJA R. MAKHIJANI ’00

Pooja Makhijani is editor of Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America, an anthology of essays by women that explores the complex ways in which race shapes American lives and families.

In 2003, she received the Magazine Award Honor in Nonfiction by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for her essay, “The First Time.” In addition to her writing career, Makhijani, a graduate of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has served as educational content specialist in Sesame Workshop’s International Education, Research and Outreach department.

An active volunteer for the nonprofit group Girls Write Now, she encourages young at-risk or underserved girls in New York City to explore careers in professional writing; for Johns Hopkins, she has served as a member of the National Alumni Schools Committee and has helped to grow a Homewood intersession program for students interested in careers in media. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.

NORMAN R. and MARGARETA AUGUSTINE

Norman Augustine is the retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, the nation’s largest defense contractor, and a former undersecretary of the Army.

He is a trustee emeritus of Johns Hopkins and a former member of the board of Princeton and MIT. Margareta Augustine has served for many years on the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Advisory Council and is an integral member of the center’s Hackerman Patz Patient & Family Pavilion Steering Committee.

Together, the Augustines have established the Margareta E. Augustine Research Fund for Hematologic Malignancies under leadership of Richard F. Ambinder. They have also created the Margareta E. Augustine Scholarship in Biomedical Engineering, which benefits an undergraduate student, with preference given to students whose work can directly benefit research in hematological malignancies.

Charles C. Diggs ’40, ’61 PhD

Charles C. Diggs spent his entire career at Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE), rising to the position of supervisor of engineering before his retirement. Diggs was able to attend Johns Hopkins thanks to a senatorial scholarship. In 1995, he endowed an undergraduate scholarship. He travels to campus each year to meet the recipient, and maintains a relationship with his scholars throughout their years at Hopkins and after they graduate. Diggs also supports the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

CHARLES J. FRANK, PE ’49

Charles J. Frank, PE ’49, is president and chairman of Charles J. Frank Inc., a private contracting firm in Baltimore.

Frank served on the Alumni Council for two terms, beginning in 1994, and he is a charter member of the Society of Engineering Alumni (SEA), and has served on the SEA’s Nominations Committee since 1997. He has also offered guidance and support to faculty and staff in the Department of Civil Engineering. Through his involvement with the American Society of Civil Engineers he has helped forge career opportunities for engineering students. Frank is also a supporter of the Class of 1949 Scholarship Fund for undergraduate students and contributes to the Hopkins Fund.

HAROLD A. RICARDS JR. ’39

Harold Ricards Jr. entered Johns Hopkins in 1935 after receiving a $100 scholarship from the Friends School of Baltimore. He then obtained a master’s degree from MIT in 1941.

He began working for the Standard Oil Development Company where he was responsible for selecting a group that was charged with developing incendiary weapons for the Chemical Warfare Service. Ricards received distinguished awards from the War Department for these efforts and his background in weapons and damage led to a military assignment with the United States Strategic Bombing Survey during the invasion of Germany. In September of 1945, he returned from Europe to participate in process research and development for the government and was a patentee in his field.

In 1958, he began working for Exxon (then Esso) in New York, heading distribution research, and in 1961, became head of their planning and evaluation department in Houston. In Memphis in 1982 he retired as marketing manager for the Exxon central and southern regions. He has been an active alumnus and contributor to Johns Hopkins. He and wife Eleanor have hosted dinners at their home, including student send-off parties for incoming freshmen. Ricards has been an active and past officer of the Houston alumni group. He has returned to the Homewood campus regularly for class reunions, including his 65th reunion