WASHINGTON--When Terry B. Kinney Jr. decided to retire as administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, he planned an orderly transition. He announced his intentions early so that his boss would have ample time to find a replacement, and he made it clear that he would remain long enough to train his successor.
In addition, he discussed with others the need to bring on a savvy Washington insider. Kinney’s 25 years at ABS had engendered deep paternal feelings in the 65-year-old poultry geneticist, and so his fondest hope was to see his successor settle into the job quickly enough to shelter the $550 million research agency from the winds of political change that would inevitably blow out of the presidential campaign and a new administration.
Kinney is no longer administrator, but that’s about the only thing that has gone according to plan. The transfer of power has been anything but smooth. ...
