From the President's Outbox: A Message from Jean-Lou Chameau

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Board of Trustees has approved my recommendation that Peter B. Dervan, Bren Professor of Chemistry, be appointed Vice President for Development and Institute Relations.  Professor Dervan will serve on an interim basis while we conduct the search for a new vice president.  

As most of you know, Dr. Dervan is an integral part of the Caltech community, where he has been an active and distinguished member of the faculty since 1973, including his chairmanship of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from 1994 to 1999.  I am extremely grateful that he is willing to serve Caltech in this capacity, and I look forward to working closely with him as he assumes leadership of the programs that facilitate the Institute's fund-raising, communications, marketing, and our relationships with Alumni, the Associates, and other key constituencies.

I am also pleased to announce the initiation of a national search for our new Vice President for Development and Institute Relations.  At my request, the following members of the broader Caltech community have agreed to serve on the committee that will conduct the search:

• Brigitte M. Bren, Caltech Trustee
• Marianne Bronner, Albert Billings Ruddock Professor of Biology
• William H. Davidow, Caltech Trustee
• Julia M. McCallin, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
• Richard M. Murray, Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering
• Scott H. Richland, Chief Investment Officer
• James F. Rothenberg, Caltech Truste
• B. Thomas Soifer, Professor of Physics; and Chair, Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
• Walter L. Weisman, Caltech Trustee

Professor Murray will chair the search committee, and I will be working closely with the committee as the search proceeds.  As we move forward, we intend to engage the services of independent search consultants to assist us with the work of identifying and evaluating prospects for the position.  Mr. Eric Johnson, who has a well-deserved reputation for effective and creative fund-raising leadership at MIT, the National Academies, and several other universities, has already agreed to serve as a consultant to the search committee.

To ensure the successful outcome of our search, the committee will be very deliberate in its efforts to seek input and suggestions from the Caltech community, including the Development and Institute Relations staff.  In addition, the committee and I will interact with the leadership of the Alumni Association, the Alumni Fund and the Associates.  From previous conversations, I know that many of you have given considerable thought to the role of the Institute's Vice President for Development and Institute Relations; and I encourage you to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities to communicate with the search committee.