Dahlem accepts resignations

Dahlem Konferenzen, which organizes interdisciplinary workshops and publications, has finally officially accepted the joint resignations of seven advisory board members who quit in February alleging that Free University Berlin administrators had compromised the organization's scientific integrity.

The organization's new scientific director, Werner Reutter, told The Scientist the decision to accept the resignations had been made on May 9 during Dahlem's semiannual advisory board meeting. He said, however, that the overall tone of the meeting was positive, adding that he believed it was time to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the future.

The seven protesting board members, who included William C. Clark, a professor at Harvard University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, cited dissatisfaction with administrators at Free University Berlin, which oversees Dahlem Konferenzen.

Norbert Baer, one of the seven protesters and a professor of conservation at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, ...