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Creator: Grauer, Neil A. Collection Date: 2002-2021 Extent: 56 cubic feet (52 boxes)
Finding Aid
Neil A. Grauer was born in 1947 and grew up in Great Neck, New York. He received his BA from Johns Hopkins University in 1969 and masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1970. As an undergraduate student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences, he created a cartoon Blue Jay mascot while cartooning for the Hopkins News-Letter. He was a court reporter, feature writer, and cartoonist for the Baltimore News-American from 1970 to 1980, after which he served as the public affairs officer in the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. In 1984, he published “Wits and Sages” which profiles twelve contemporary newspaper columnists, illustrated with his caricatures of the columnists. His “Drugs and the Law” (1988) appeared as part of the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs, and “Medicine and the Law” (1989) appeared in the Encyclopedia of Health. Other books include “Baltimore, Jewel of the Chesapeake: A Contemporary Portrait” (1991), “Remember Laughter: A Life of James Thurber” (1994), “Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition, The Second Edition of the Bob Scott Classic” (2006), a collaboration with lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala, and “Strong Deeds, Gentle Words: The Truman Semans Story” (2016). From 1992 to 1997, he was senior writer for Vanguard Communications in Washington, D.C. He wrote press releases, op ed articles, editorial memoranda, brochures, and speeches for non-profit environmental organizations, educational coalitions and government agencies devoted to promoting health and human services. He also prepared comprehensive press kits for books published by trade houses and university presses, such as Harvard and Nebraska.
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In 1998, he returned to Johns Hopkins as public affairs officer for what then was the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE). In 2002 until his retirement in 2021, he was assistant director of editorial services for Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Marketing and Communications. Grauer is author of several Johns Hopkins Medicine history books, “Centuries of Caring: The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Story (2004), “Leading the Way: A History of Johns Hopkins Medicine” (2012), “The Special Field: A History of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins” (2015), and “Old Hands: A History of the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins” (2021). He also was a major contributor to in-house publications, in particular the “Hopkins Medicine Magazine”, “Change” and “Dome”, writing feature pieces, obituaries and profiles; as well as occasionally speeches during the course of his career at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
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The Neil A. Grauer collection covers his tenure as assistant director of editorial services for Johns Hopkins Medicine and document his many publications. Materials include correspondence, manuscripts, notes, clippings, reference material (from online sources as well as copies from the Chesney Medical Archives), interview transcripts, occasional photos, audio cassette interviews and a few digital video disks. Grauer’s files for articles and pieces used in the magazine, Hopkins Medicine, were used to produce magazine features, “Alpha Docs”, “Class Notes” and “Obituaries”. These files include correspondence with faculty and alumni, interview transcripts, reference and other materials. There are also folders pertaining to Hopkins leaders who were subjects of Grauer’s articles. Files include material utilized and produced for “Change” – a monthly newsletter for faculty and senior staff of Johns Hopkins Medicine and “CPA News” – the Clinical Practice Association Newsletter which was later replaced with “Best Practices”. Grauer’s files for articles from Dome, a Hopkins Medicine publication for health system employees (2004-2021) include the “Who/What” back page, with brief paragraphs on faculty achievements. Dome files also include separate stories he wrote for print issues of Dome from 2004 to 2018. Grauer also wrote a feature, “Hopkins History Moments,” for the online version of Dome until 2021. Records related to his many books, include research files, drafts, and oral interview. Grauer wrote institutional histories of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the departments of neurosurgery and surgery. Also included are files related to his work for CEPAR.
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