Dear BioNetters and concerned world citizen -
Now that the new year has begun and our teaching commitments have
waned with the successful poster session and conclusion of
Biochemistry 578, Molecular Biology Computer Techniques, we would
like to take the opportunity to update interested parties on the
situation with the VADMS Center at Washington State University.
I apologize for not writing earlier, things were still very
uncertain most of the summer, then I was gone all of August---
vacationing with relatives first and then helping Mitch Sogin
with the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory Molecular
Evolution Course computer laboratory, and then this last semester
has been insanely busy with teaching and trying to catch up.
Enough excuses, for those who are interested, read on ....
We obviously survived the university's "reconfiguration" process
this last summer, albeit with greatly reduced funding (40%
reduction from both the Graduate School and Information
Technology), no secretarial support, no administrative "home" or
director, and other painful changes. The worst was Information
Technology's (formerly Systems and Computing) refusal to continue
funding Susan's position. The Provost's Office came up with an
offer to support half of her position for one year after our
users pled for us in public hearing; we were forced to implement
a user subscription system to raise the balance. Under our
subscription plan we have been able to generate almost $23,000.
During the reconfiguration process Central Administration
challenged us to raise 20K, so we have met this immediate demand.
Unfortunately, that was not enough for any guarantee of
permanency. We have recently heard that neither the Graduate
School or the Provost or the Division of Sciences is willing to
come up with any additional funding to compensate for next year's
20K shortfall caused by the Provost's one-year-only support
offer. It is ridiculous to expect our users to generate twice
the present subscription revenue; this is not realistic and will
not happen---they would simply drop us.
At this point we are operating strictly on a Fiscal year-to-year
funding basis, full of uncertainty. And it is only going to get
worse. Next year's university-wide budget is predicted to be cut
an additional 1.5% because of Washington's newly passed tax
reform referendum. In order to maintain any semblance of present
service capacity in the future, it is becoming increasingly clear
that outside operational funding must be found. This appears to
be the only way that we will be able to continue with two staff
members and two staff members is the only way that we can
continue our present level of expertise and support. This route
is being pursued (particularly with our curriculum development
work and secondarily with a potential multi-division large
equipment grant in order to obtain an independent platform), but
we have neither the available staff time or the name recognition
for its reliable success. Additionally, most extramural sources
are willing to provide for startup or equipment funding but are
reluctant to provide subsistence operating funds. Furthermore,
any grant process takes over a year, even with first-time
success, and we only have operational funding to last part-way
through next Fiscal Year. Perhaps Central Administration will
string us along to the very last minute and then come up with
just enough funding for us to squeak by for yet another year; we
should not have to exist under such a tenuous situation.
As it is, we have no monies available for equipment repair and
all of our equipment maintenance contracts will expire by the end
of January 1994. Our graphics and molecular modelling resources
have been seriously depleted---only one of our three SGI machines
can even display a picture. We must now ftp update all of our
databases whereas we formerly maintained subscriptions, and the
present Information Technology VAX cluster is becoming woefully
inadequate. How can a service function, which consistently
receives glowing reviews, which has developed and teaches a very
successful graduate level laboratory course as well as offering
instructional modules in a number of other graduate and
undergraduate courses, and which is constantly defended as being
invaluable by its users, be treated with such indignation? We
have done everything that has been asked of us, what more can we
do?
Furthermore, our previous Acting Director, A.K. Dunker, set up
a VADMS Center Advisory Board which should be able to help in
just such problems as we are currently experiencing. Yet he has
steadfastly refused to tap the potential for fund-raising within
this board by not involving them or even making them aware of our
fiscal problems. The current members of our board follow:
Jurgen Bajorath Bristol Myers Squibb
Jeffrey Blaney Chiron Corporation
Fred Cohen Dept. Pharm. Chem. UC San Fran
John Devereux Genetics Computer Group
Richard Douthart Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Steven Fodor Affymax Research Institute
Mickey Gorman Pathogenesis
Michael Gribskov San Diego Supercomputer Center
Arne Hagler BioSym Technologies Inc.
Mathew Hahn Molecular Simulations
Leroy Hood Molecular Biotechnology Univ. Wash.
Carl March Immunex Corporation
Joseph Modelevsky Digital Equipment Corporation
Patrick O'Hara ZymoGenetics
George Purvis III CAChe Scientific Inc.
Peter Saurugger Pioneer Hi-Bred Internatl. Inc.
Teresa Webster Arris Pharmaceutical
If any of you from this list is perusing this message, please
contact us with any ideas you might have and please inform us of
your E-mail address so that we may keep in more intimate contact
in the future. I do have several of your E-mail addresses
already and have sent this message to those, but many others are
not available through standard Internet routes as they are
commercial. Susan is sending you all a more detailed letter on
these matters via snail mail in the meantime. Also, if any other
readers are familiar with these individuals, please forward this
message on to them.
In summary, as in the past, we are not so much whining, as we are
advising interested parties of our situation and inquiring for
advice and consul. A little bit of begging never hurt
either---one can always use a guardian angel. Of course, our
alternative is just to give up and start a job search now.
Washington State University would lose a very good thing, but it
would probably be a hell of a lot easier on us. Unfortunately,
both Susan and myself do very much enjoy the work involved in
providing our services to the academic community.
- Steve
Susan J. Johns & Steven M. Thompson
VADMS Center & Laboratory
Visualization, Analysis & Design in the Molecular Sciences
Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-1224, USA
AT&Tnet: (509) 335-0424, -0533, -3179 FAX: (509) 335-0540
INTERnet: PRCADAMS & THOMPSON @jaguar.csc.wsu.edu
