IP: Changes: Gibbons, Lane, Colwell

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 29: February 13, 1998


Jack Gibbons Retires, Neal Lane to OSTP, Rita Colwell to NSF 


Three prominent scientists are changing their positions here in
Washington.  Today, Dr. John Gibbons, Assistant to the President
for Science and Technology, and  Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy, announced his retirement. 
President Clinton announced his intention to nominate NSF
Director Dr. Neal Lane as Gibbons' replacement.  Replacing Lane,
the President said, will be Dr. Rita Colwell, currently the
President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.


Gibbons tendered his resignation to President Clinton in a letter
released this afternoon.  Gibbons wrote:  "It has been an
extraordinary honor and privilege to be your science advisor for
over five years.  I am grateful for the remarkable opportunity to
cap my four decades of public service by serving you and our
country.  While I remain committed to your success, I believe
that now is an appropriate time to submit my resignation, to be
effective March 15, 1998.  I  look forward to continuing my
efforts to build bridges between people, disciplines, and
institutions."


His letter continues,  "I take my leave with a sense of deep
humility and immense pride -- humility in being associated with
great American scientists who have gone before me, pride in this
nation's unmatched scientific establishment.  The tools of
science and technology have provided greater strength, greater
resources, and a greater quality of life for all Americans.  In
private life, I will work as hard as I have in the White House to
keep us on the path to scientific preeminence, as well as to
ensure that science and technology nurture the values and ideals
that gave us birth as a Nation."


President Clinton accepted the resignation with regret during a
speech today at the annual meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.  Clinton thanked Gibbons for his
years of service in Washington.    Before coming to the White
House, Gibbons was the Director of the congressional Office of
Technology Assessment.


Commenting on his resignation, Rep. George Brown, Jr. (D-CA)
said, "I don't think any science advisor ever served in more
trying times for science than did Dr. Gibbons.  Crowded by
efforts to shrink the deficit, shouted at by ideologically driven
voices of irrationality, and sometimes prodded by friends who
thought he should do more, Jack's term was not all sweetness and
light.   But Jack spoke forcefully for reasoned policy and
legislation, and he will be remembered as a principled advocate
for science in a time when irrational forces might have capsized
the enterprise.  Jack also worked persistently within the White
House to defend science budgets from the competing claims of
other worthy needs. The result of those efforts is the superb set
of proposals to support science and technology in the President's


1999 budget. In short, Jack is leaving at the top of his game and
reaping the applause he so richly deserves for a job well done. 
We are very old friends and I believe that Washington will be a
less interesting place without him."


Gibbons worked with the President and Vice President for more
than a year to select his replacement,  Neal Lane.  Of Lane, Rep.
Brown said, "Neal Lane has done a terrific job at NSF.  Stepping
into the post at OSTP will require that he shift his focus from
what is best for the Nation's academic research system to a
broader conception of what is in the National interest in all
aspects of science and technology.  I am sure that he is up to
the task and will be an able and talented advisor who will make
his mark in White House inner circles."  Lane's nomination will
go to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee,
chaired by Senator John McCain (R-AZ).


Dr. Rita Colwell, nominated as the new director of the National
Science Foundation, has a Ph.D. in marine microbiology from the
University of Washington.  She has served on the National Science
Board and has been the president of the American Society for
Microbiology, the International Union of Microbiological
Societies, and the American Association for the Advancement of
Science.  Brown said of Colwell: "Rita Colwell has a terrific
track record at AAAS.  Her experiences both in Washington and
academia make her a great choice to head NSF.  I look forward to
working with both Dr. Colwell and Dr. Lane for many years to
come."  The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee will hold
a confirmation hearing on Colwell's nomination.  Senator James M.
Jeffords (R-VT) chairs this committee.  


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Richard M. Jones
Public Information Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi () aip org
(301) 209-3095
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