cont.
In 1992, the Board of Trustees established the Science Fund as the component of the endowment into which we place all equity positions and a portion of the royalties we receive for intellectual property licensed to new companies founded in whole or in part on the basis of CSHL technology. The Science Fund is intended for the future support of science, and no drawdown is currently being taken in order to encourage its growth. At year-end, the Science Fund was valued at $7,456,000, with a number of its equity positions very conservatively stated. In mid-2000, an important patent will expire, royalties from which have been providing significant funding for Lab research. The Science Fund will be helpful in bridging any temporary period while new sources of funding develop.
During 1998, our administrative departments successfully managed an extraordinary array of new projects with skill and good humor, despite tight budgets, staff limitations, and a shortage of working space.
John Maroney, director of Technology Transfer, and his department facilitate the transfer of cutting-edge basic research at the Laboratory to the commercial sector. Last year, two new companies, Genetica and Orion, were formed to pursue gene discovery in the fields of cancer and plant research. The Lab has equity participations in both companies. The Technology Transfer Department has also been instrumental-with New York State and SUNY Farmingdale-in planning and organizing the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park until a full-time manager can be recruited. In the meantime, preliminary discussions have been conducted with prospective tenants who have already spoken for more than half the initial space to be available.
The Facilities Department, led by Art Brings, manages each year to meet the heavy demands of schedules and budgets for construction, renovations, and maintenance while keeping the Lab productive and ensuring that it is also a showcase of style and natural beauty. Our grounds, under the care of Dan Miller, have never looked better. Grants Management, Human Resources, and Purchasing, managed by Susan Schultz, Cheryl Sinclair, and Phil Lembo, respectively, can be counted on to cope well with constantly increasing demands on their departments. Roberta Salant, administrative assistant to John Maroney and me, is of great help to both of us and meets the often-complex needs of our Board of Trustees and its committees with efficiency and grace.
No area of the Laboratory has been growing faster than the need for information services. Its requirements permeate everything we do in science, education, and administration. Virtually all the buildings on our main campus and our six remote locations are now part of the Lab-wide computer network. Gerry Latter, director of Information Services, and his staff deserve great credit for bringing the Lab to the cutting edge of data management.
Very important to the smooth functioning of the Laboratory is our financial infrastructure, which is headed by Controller Bill Keen and Assistant Controller Lari Russo. "Best-ever" financial years are the result of the efforts of many people, but they also are very dependent on good planning and budget control. We can count on Bill and Lari to provide such services. Equally important is their ability to successfully take on and complete time-consuming major projects such as the Lab's recent $42-million bond issue.
A priority of the past few years has been to add a new depth of professionalism to administrative areas that will be particularly important to the Laboratory in the years ahead. We have made substantial progress in this regard.
The Lab's Development Department is currently challenged with raising some $67 million to help fund our new initiatives and to substantially increase the level of annual support for research. Rick Cosnotti, our chief development officer for 18 months, is making remarkable progress on this task. More than half the $32 million endowment planned for the Graduate School has been raised, and in 1998, both of the Laboratory's annual funds-the Association and the DNA Learning Center Corporate Advisory Board-established new records.
Deborah Barnes, our director of Public Affairs for nearly a year, is producing a new video encompassing a year in the life of the Lab. It will be an effective tool for development and for recruiting graduate students. In cooperation with Newsday, Deborah has introduced a new public lecture series on cancer. The first lecture, given in March by Richard Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute, was a cautiously optimistic explanation of the current status of cancer research. The Laboratory's scientists, and Dr. Watson in particular, have been featured broadly in the national media. Deborah and chief science writer Wendy Goldstein are making good progress on their mission to make Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and its science more visible nationally and internationally.
At the close of 1998, Margaret Henderson, director of the Library, left the Laboratory due to her husband's new job responsibilities and two growing children at home. We miss her and hope she will visit often. Margaret's replacement, Ludmila Tsytlenok-Pollock (Mila), joined us in early April. Mila has a master's degree in library science, 19 years of experience in the field, and seemingly boundless energy. Before coming to the United States in 1993, she was head of the Reference Department of the State Central Scientific Medical Library in Moscow, Russia. Since 1993, she had been director of the Medical Library at South Nassau Community Hospital on Long Island. Now she will be dealing with the space limitations of the Lab's 94-year-old Carnegie Library, keeping abreast of the changes brought about by electronic publishing, and meeting the needs of our new graduate students. She will plan the organization and preservation of the personal archives of Dr. Watson and the voluminous records of the 110-year existence of the Laboratory, which encompass much of the history of molecular biology and genetics.
W. Dillaway Ayres will soon complete his first year as associate administrative director. Dill has been deeply involved with me in the planning of our new initiatives and has been of much help with many of the Lab's day-to-day concerns. Working closely with Gerry Latter and all the department heads, he has been instrumental in guiding a major capital project that entails the purchase and installation of new, Lab-wide business-management software and accompanying hardware. The new system, being purchased from Lawson Software, will change most of the accounting, reporting, approval, and operational methodology at the Lab. It should greatly improve our productivity and be a solid foundation for future operations. Dill is also chairman of our Year 2000 Committee and is well along in ensuring that the Laboratory will not be seriously affected by any technical problems associated with the arrival of the new century.
As noted elsewhere in this report, the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees this past November marked the retirement of David L. Luke III as chairman of the Board and John R. Reese as treasurer. Each had completed the maximum number of years in office permitted by our by-laws. Their guidance and leadership in matters of finance and many other areas of Laboratory activity have been invaluable. Fortunately, in their respective successors, William R. Miller and Lola N. Grace, we have two individuals in whom we have a similar level of confidence.
Looking ahead to the fast-approaching millennium, we are reminded that it is challenges and opportunities such as those described in this report that make Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory such an exciting place for all who come in contact with it-our employees, supporters, and the world of science. The future looks every bit as promising as the past.
| | G. Morgan Browne
Administrative Director |
| May 1999 |