William C. Richardson was president of Johns Hopkins University and professor of health policy and management from 1990-1995. He holds an MBA and PhD in business from the University of Chicago, where he specialized in health care delivery. He also served as graduate dean at the University of Washington and as provost at Pennsylvania State University before being recruited to Johns Hopkins University. Following his presidency, Richardson became the head of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In this oral history, Richardson discusses his tenure as president, including the state of the university's finances and departments at the time of his arrival and throughout his time at the institution. He touches on his first impressions of the university and the strategic decisions he made during his tenure as the university's president. The interview took place over two sessions, both of which are available to access. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Scientific research at American universities has led to many important discoveries and applications during the first half of the twentieth century. Research on botulism, kidney function, human heat tolerance, x-rays and other topics from the University of California at Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, Indiana University and other institutions are featured.