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“D> aan a April 9, 1979

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JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

Chancellor Albert H. Bowker
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720

Dear Al:

I understand that you might have the opportunity .
to recruit Professor Herman Witkin as a Distinguished
Visiting Professor in Psychology for a quarter in the
next academic year.

I have known Dr. Witkin personally and professionally
for at least 20 years and have the highest regard for his
accomplishments and presence as an investigator, teacher,
colleague, and friend. He has an outstanding reputation
for his work in psychological differentiation, personality
and cognition, and recently more especially in cross cul-
tural research. The contribution with which I am most
famijiar, and that intimately, is his work on the XYY
chromosome syndrome (Science 193:547, 1976). This work
which was laborious, and meticulously designed and exe-
cuted has done more than any other to clear up the con-
troversy that has surrounded the XYY effect: and of course
it points to still further questions that need to be ex-
plored but which now’rests on a critical scientific basis.

I know that the value of a visiting appointment rests
as much on the collegial attributes of the appointee as on
his scientific skill and here Hy would be most admirable.
He relates beautifully to every element of the academic
structure and I am sure that Berkeley would be greatly en-
riched for whatever time you can attract him for. It is
not an empty remark that I envy you the opportunity of
gaining so much for a very modest investment; and I would
not hesitate to do the same here if I had the opportunity.

You sincerely,

  

Joshua Lederberg