BACK TO SCIENCE. William Schlesinger, dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, will leave in June to become president of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) in Millbrook, New York. His departure has been driven in part by his unhappiness with Duke's administration.
In his 6 years as dean, Schlesinger boosted fundraising and increased enrollment by 66%. But he recently had disagreements with university administrators over management of the school's policy institute. Schlesinger wanted the institute to report exclusively to him instead of him and the provost. "I was a little frustrated," he admits. Adding to the headaches, a $72 million donation pledged in 2003 by the school's founding donors has not yet materialized.
At IES, Schlesinger, 56, will have a chance to focus on ecosystem science--his specialty. He is taking over from Gene Likens, who founded the institute in 1983.
