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, told The Scientist in an E-mail that he and the six others had not been invited to attend the May 9 board meeting: "I certainly have not had even the courtesy of an acceptance of my resignation," he said.Reutter said the resignations, proffered in February, were not official until the remaining board members voted to accept them. The seven former board members now will receive official confirmation of their resignations, he said, adding: "We will write letters to them thanking them for their service."Dahlem, which has organized some 90 international multidisciplinary conferences since 1974, was integrated into Free University Berlin in 1990. The protesting board members and other scientists alleged that Free University Berlin administrative actions had slowed down publication of manuscripts for recent Dahlem workshops and undermined the independent scientific integrity of the conferences. There also was outrage over the removal in November of Dahlem's program director and series editor Julia Lupp without prior consultation of the board.After the removal of Lupp triggered threats of mass advisory board resignation, the Dahlem Presidium, whose membership includes Free University Berlin President Dieter Lenzen, created the new position of "scientific director" and installed Reutter, who is director of Berlin Charite's Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Lupp also was reinstalled at Dahlem, reporting to Reutter. She declined to be interviewed for this story.Reutter said the focus of last week's board meeting was on future conferences, not past controversies or resigned board members. "It was a very constructive atmosphere and a very friendly atmosphere."But one board member, speaking to The Scientist on condition of anonymity, said tensions between some board members and the Free University Berlin still persist. The board member added that the mood at Dahlem is not as serene as described by Reutter.Reutter declined to speak in detail about the resigned board members and other controversies of the past half year. "We would like all this to quiet down so we can have a new beginning," he said.However, Reutter was critical of comments published by The Scientist from Free University Berlin neurobiologist Randolf Menzel, one of the seven board members who resigned in February. "I am not happy with [Menzel]," Reutter said.At the time of the February resignations, three proposed Dahlem workshops were cancelled in protest by their chairs. Reutter said one of those, Integrated History and Future of People on Earth, had been rescheduled for June. Three other potential workshops are possible if Dahlem can secure funding, he said.Asked whether he thought the controversy had harmed fundraising efforts, Reutter said: "No. No. No. Really no, and clearly no. There is no interrelationship."

Dahlem accepts resignations

German meeting group looks to the future, without seven protesting board members

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