Without telling any of my colleagues or members of my lab, I had responded to an invitation to apply for Chairman of Physiology at Southern Illinois University. I was a bit surprised when I was invited to come to Carbondale to interview. I hadn't really thought about being the Chair of a department until last year when friends of mine at the Vet School at U of I suggested that I apply for chair of Vet Biosciences. I thought about it but that was about all. As it turned out they hired a DVM which was what they were really looking for. But it got me thinking about what my vision for a department would be. At the time I was going through the process and had filed all my papers for promotion to Full Professor some months before. The rather tepid support I got from my own department during that process left a bad taste in my mouth, and reminded me of what it is about this department that I don't like and what I would change if I could. And if I was the Chair, I could. This helped me form my vision for how a Physiology department should be-- not one divided between the haves and have-nots where a caste system renders those between grants as 2nd class citizens, where teaching is not incentivized, but is the inevitable role that you get pushed ever further into as your research founders. And I would never take grad students away from faculty when they lose their funding, an act which would perpetuate their difficulties in getting funded again. Funding rules and those who choose to devote themselves to service and teaching are not rewarded but punished. The salary disparity is obscene. Another part of my vision does not differ from what my current Chair has done, to build the department around a critical mass of science. Only the critical mass he built did not include my expertise or recognize my contributions to reproductive biology. Because this is Physiology it is necessary that there be token representation of the other physiological disciplines. I am fortunate to have the reproductive physiology colleagues I have here and in Ob/Gyn, and especially fortunate to have established strong interdepartmental connections via the cancer center. So when SIU solicited my application, I looked at their department and found that I really liked what I saw. The three areas of concentration are reproduction, cancer and neuroscience. Much of my work has embraced neuroendocrinolgy-- so it was indeed a good critical mass to start with. The other thing that attracted me to SIU was Carbondale. SIU is on the edge of the Shawnee National Forest and it is reported to be an incredibly scenic are with abundant access to nature. Not to mention the cost of living and the pace of life are much more appealing than Chicago. Having 11 million neighbors in the 5 county area and northwest Indian makes this amongst the biggest concentrations of people in the world, and this does exact a toll.
Which sets up The Dream. The night before I was scheduled to travel to Carbondale by train, I had this dream, one of those dreams that sticks with you all day, that you keep dreaming after you are awake. I arrived in the place where I was interviewing and it appeared to be in the Himalayas or other vast mountain region, one of incredible beauty with breath taking vistas and pristine natural beauty. The facility I was visiting was geographically dispersed, scattered in several small buildings some many miles distant from the main campus. Inside the buildings they had state of the art facilities with every kind of modern molecular biological equipment you could imagine, and the buildings were modern on the inside, just small. Outside, I was transported to the other buildings by faculty wearing work clothes, cowboy boots and tractor caps. We would stand outside with the incredible vista at our feet as we discussed the institute I was being recruited to. Everything seemed wonderful. Then I asked about the graduate program, the number and quality of students-- and my host and tour guide would answer "this is an incredibly beautiful place to live...." Each time the conversation came back around to the grad program, I would get the same answer, this was a beautiful place to live. I woke up but was still in a dreamspace as I finished packing, showered, put on my traveling clothes and headed off to catch the train. On the way to Carbondale I worked on my seminar, then grew sleepy. As I dozed off, I was back in the dream and as I looked out the window of the Amtrak at central Illinois I was a little worried by what I saw. Shantis and tar paper shacks along the rail road tracks. trailers and cars on blocks. A bleak, barren, late winter landscape of brown and gray. The closer we got to Carbondale, the worse it looked. I was beginning to wonder, what in the heck was I getting myself into.
As the train entered the outskirts of Carbondale the scenery improved dramatically and I felt encouraged. When I disembarked, I was greeted by the current and out going Chair of the department-- bushy white beard, cowboy boots and blue jeans. We got into his pickup truck and he drove me off for a tour of the nearby Giant City State Park. We stopped at Little Grassy Lake and I marveled at the dense, endless forest of dogwoods not yet budding out and the huge placid lake. The park was magnificent and the terrain very hilly. Indeed, it was a natural marvel. Rick explained how SIU medical school was divided between Carbondale and Springfield and when we arrived on campus I saw the low laying brick buildings that housed the department, adjacent to Campus Lake. This was just too eerily similar to my dream! I had the best experience of my career at the interview during which time I met with some 30 different people in 2.5 days and had 7 business meals out. The only time I was alone was in my hotel room at night. It was intense. My seminar was a big hit and I was told that I had the reproduction people convinved I was in reproudctin and the cancer folks sure I was a cancer biologist. When I met with the Dean he told me that he'd heard I was selling well in the department. They did have state of the art facilities and modern well equipped labs. I was pleased that the department would support two grad students per faculty regardless of funding. But when I really pressed them it turned out the single biggest problem is with the number of grad students in their PhD program. My dream was prescient. My charge will be to take this problem on. A problem which many physiology departments have these days. Recruitment.
I guess I did a good job at my interview. I was contacted today by the head of the search committee and I was selected as their top candidate, and that they would be making me an offer. Holy cats! This is all happening so fast. Surely it is meant to be.
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