Water Resources People and Issues
A: Way back I did, at the time of Clarke. But I think the response at that time
may very well have been, well, we're getting a new program started-give us
time and then we'll look at it. Most recently I made it to some
representatives of the Corps when we were getting under way with the
evaluation of TVA with FEMA, but it didn`t seem practical for the Corps
people to join.
Q: Let's turn to some things in which I think you're still very much involved.
I'm interested in the origins of the Institute of Behavioral Science and how
this institute got off the ground, what your involvement was with it, and how
you got to the University of Colorado.
A: I had nothing to do with the Institute of Behavioral Science being organized.
It dates back now over 20 years, and it was started within the university by
an administration that wanted to upgrade the quality of its social science and
behavioral science faculty. At that time there was a small group of able
research people that did collaborate from several departments. The university
took advantage of their being familiar with each other and interested in
interdisciplinary effort to put together a new unit for which they could get
funds. At that time the National Science Foundation had a Center for
Excellence program. They were able to bring new money into the university,
and with this new money they were able to recruit faculty that otherwise
wouldn`t have come. For example, Kenneth Boulding moved in economics
from Michigan to Colorado, not because of the attraction of the economics
department at the University of Colorado, but because of the opportunity to
work in an interdisciplinary unit.
The institute was a straightforward effort by the university to build a quality
social science faculty. It did so. There were a number of faculty who
wouldn`t have come if it hadn`t been for the institute or who wouldn't have
stayed if it hadn't been for the institute.
I came from the University of Chicago in 1970 because I was interested in an
institution where there was more opportunity for interdisciplinary research
than there was in Chicago, and because this was an area in which I thought
we would like to live on retirement. While we greatly enjoyed the University
of Chicago, we did look forward to retiring in the University of Colorado
neighborhood since we already had a summer place here in Colorado.
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