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Chapter 9. Biology and Water Science

Conclusion

Most of the diversification of CIRES programs during the 1990s occurred through gradual expansion in the commitment to biology and initiation of a sustained program in water science. There seems to be no general regret among the non-biologists as to the CIRES commitment to biology. At the same time, other disciplines that have been historically much stronger than biology within CIRES make convincing arguments that excellence in a few specific areas is extremely important to the aggregate strength of CIRES and must be preserved and even extended if CIRES is to be as successful in the future as it has been in the past. This is a familiar argument often played out within academic departments as they consider hiring. In departments, however, there is a mandatory or at least an ethical commitment to diversification because instructional needs, which are diverse, must be served through disciplinary diversity among the teaching faculty. Within CIRES, this constraint is much weaker because CIRES does not have formal teaching responsibilities, even though those fellows who are University faculty members teach extensively for their departments. Thus, one of the most important questions for CIRES to consider in the future with respect to both biology and water science is the value of diversification as opposed to the use of resources for those areas of excellence that are already best developed within CIRES. The direction of both the biology and water programs in CIRES will be strongly influenced by the weight of opinion among the fellows and the CIRES administration on this matter.

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