January 28, 1957

Dear Victor:

So your hangout is Puerto. Vallarta, Jeen Weigle was there during
x Kipemsiexy December,”

   

I would have written you sooner, but thought you pi’ tovred @ gute

cease fran’ the battle-line dining’ your expedition. ~~.

_ We are in sonething of a cross-fire. In addition to Stenrerd's

“wery cordial bid,’ we have one fron the Genetics Department at verkeley

~

{vice Clausen) whitch ‘fs, IT should &
if not in timing. Then, here at Wisconsin, there has been an acce juration
of earlier discussions “a faculty committee will soon review a concrete
proposal for a néw départment of Medical Genetics, The stending of

should-‘emphasize, independent, in inte.

 

these possibilities ia very mich the same in regard tp such matters

ag pelary and laboretory facilities. If this were’ & world where one couli
eat a cake and have it too, I would want to tele advemtage an turn of

_the unique opportunities that each of these popsiziittica has to offer.

To be very candid with you Victor, if I vere préssed to make sn

_dnatent, dectetén, I probably yould ‘have: to say 'probebly not! %: Star

ford, ahd I wpuld’ advise you now to etert thinking: of poie altera: ive

candidates, Tf you are interested, T nay have sone siggzestions for you

“dn a week or two. Howevéry I have to say that the pendulum has et least
quivered a few tines, and more sober reflection and realistic reapprake:.

might make 1t swing. What I am asking of you is that you keep this offer
open for, say, another month (during which you can be making ether delibera-
tions) if you can do this without coupronising your overe21] pjans. I have
been in touch, by mail, with Cliff (and have been one of your more enthusiag
tic salesmen to him); I would, for axample, welcome a chence to go over
this in person with him before locking the door. If you are returning a
little early, you might get Cliff to go out during February so that I

could see him before thetdeadline.' In any wase, you can be sure that

we have weleaned this chance to get closer to Stanford end if, for example,
we should end up at Berkeley (which is just one of the three possibilities)
we would make a point of cultiveting these relationships as 4 matter of
self-interest.

I ran across a small news item buried in the N.Y, Times which must
have a disturbing import-— hamely that Dean Cutting had resigned; no
explanations were published, Is this a point of any coneern to myself?

Everyone at Stanford was so niece to us that we feel a little
abashed to have to show the least hesitation in jYoining the fanily.
I hope you will sympsshize with our problems of decision.

Yours

Joshua Lederberg
January 28, 1957

Dear Victors

Bo you're in Paerto Vallerta! We. had mtwmteg missed eeeing Jean Weigle
(fron Caltech) during our visit west because he was down there then.

I would. ‘have written you ‘egoner but thought you wanted some surcease
during your expedition, .

We find ourselves in. sonething of ae crose-fire. In. addition te Stanford,
we now have a bid fron Rerkeley (which 1s, I hasten to. add, independent in
‘Sntent 4f.not ih timing).. And. then, matters here in relation to medical gene-
' tics have moved at an accelerated peces a faculty committee will soon review
_ .@ concrete. proposal for suéh a deparinent=-. a. program that, as you inow, has
been one af my aspirations for a leng. tine. Thenstanding of these various of-
fers in tegard to. such things as salary and laboratory facilities 1s very
‘much the same,

"Frankly, ‘4f I had a way to manage it, I would be delighted with a program
that would leave me. here abeut six years mare to get the medical genetics
group well underway ,.. about. ten at Berkeley. with its. somewhat too urbane
atmosphere,.and.a final settling down. at Sten?ord. AYou can see fron this where
California stands in our long-run eatimatione). But. we: sametimes have to take
our opportunities as we find them, and needless to say whatever we come to do
now will not be in the terms of. of ahah a Plen, Life is too-unpredictable to