News-Letter

Media Credit: Husein Danish President William Brody will transfer to his new position at the Salk Institute.

President William Brody announced his plans last Monday to become the president of the Salk Institute in San Diego, Calif. His new appointment will begin in March 2009, a year after his announcement to retire as president of the Johns Hopkins University.

President Brody will oversee the Salk Institute's 870 scientific staff members, directing the Institute's research objectives as well as seeking further financial support for the institution.

"We have all been struck by Bill's intellect, energy and enthusiasm and look forward to working closely with him as he leads the Institute to new levels of excellence," Chairman of Salk's Board of Trustees Irwin Jacobs said in an Oct. 13 press release.

The Salk Institute began its search for a new president a year and a half ago. According to Mauricio Minotta, director of Communications for the Salk Institute, the Institute began looking into Brody as a possible candidate prior to his announcement to retire as president of the University in March 2008.

He was first contacted by a search consultant hired by the Institute several weeks before his announcement to retire.

"I said, 'You must be reading my mind or tapping my phone or something,'" Brody said. "I had informed the Board that I was formally going to step down but I hadn't made the announcement. In this kind of position you get people calling. It isn't uncommon for someone to call and ask if you [are] interested in XYZ."

Brody was initially uninterested in the position.

"I told them, 'You've got the wrong guy - I am not a card-carrying molecular biologist,'" Brody said.

He cited his lack of experience as a researcher as a reason for his initial response.

"You need someone in a leading research organization that the people doing the research can respect," Brody said. "I was concerned that as a person who had not done a lot of investigative work, mostly work in engineering and applied medicine, I wouldn't be appropriate for the job."

The Salk Institute insisted that Brody first go out to California and visit the Institute before he made any decision, which he did last spring.

"Over the few months I got to meet many of their scientists, and they are a very impressive group. They are among the top. I was taken by the quality of people," Brody said.

Continued...

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