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THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

1230 YORK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10021
May 3, 1979

 

JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

Ms. Marion Kilson

Director

The Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute
of Radcliffe College

3 James Street

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Dear Ms. Kilson:

Thank you for your letter of April 30th. You may
recall that we had some correspondence and telephone
conversation about the structure and purposes of the
Institute when I called you from Stanford last year.

While we have our quota of problems of academic
career adjustments for able women here, the Rockefeller
University is in fact primarily a medical research in-
stitute. The presumption that Bunting Institute Fellows
would be spending part-time "teaching at her own insti-
tution" and remaining time on "research at the {Bunting}
institute" does not then readily match our model. Con-
versely, it is conceivable that there might be places
for part-time laboratory research opportunities here,
for women holding teaching appointments elsewhere in
the New York metropolitan area. Unless I hear otherwise,
however, I would assume that providing funds to assist
in arrangements of that kind was not regarded as your
own responsibility.

Howbeit, I would continue to welcome your own in-
sight in ways that an institution like ours can help to
meet the special requirements of women in academic life.
I will also keep in mind your research associate program
"to study women in modern society" although again no
specific candidate leaps to mind.
Ms. Marion Kilson
May 3, 1979

-2-

Shortly I will send you some material that may
succinctly describe our particular institution and I
would certainly welcome remaining on your own mailing
list.

Besides the more important motif of the functional
role of your institute, I could add that one of my own
points of interest is that I was a next door laboratory
partner to Mary Bunting almost 35 years ago when we both
worked with the late Professor Edward L. Tatum at Yale
University.

Yours sincerely,

 

oshua Lederberg

Encl. - Ont ZZ Opyerrdos