NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 4201 WILSON BOULEVARD ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22230 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR July 14, 2004 Dear Colleague: We are initiating a national search for an Assistant Director of NSF for Biological Sciences (BIO) and seek your assistance in the identification of candidates. Dr. Mary Clutter has served in this position with great distinction since 1988 and we are grateful for her dedication to the Foundation. The Assistant Director, BIO, leads a Directorate comprised of five divisions -- Biological Infrastructure; Environmental Biology; Emerging Frontiers; Integrative Biology and Neuroscience; Molecular and Cellular Bioscience -- and the Plant Genome Research program. Enclosed is an information sheet that summarizes the Directorate’s activities and the responsibilities of the position, together with criteria that will be used in the search. Employment may be on a temporary or permanent basis in the Federal Service or by temporary assignment under provisions of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act. We seek your help in identifying candidates with outstanding leadership qualifications; a grasp of the challenges and opportunities facing the biological sciences in research and education; and the ability to serve effectively as a key member of the NSF policy and management team. We are especially interested in identifying women, members of minority groups, and persons with disabilities for consideration. Recommendations of individuals from every sector -- academe, industry, or government -- are welcome. Please send your recommendations, including any supporting information which you might be able to provide, to AD/BIO Search Committee via e-mail (biosrch@lists.nsf.gov) or at the following address: National Science Foundation, Office of the Director, Suite 1205, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230. We would appreciate receiving them by August 31, 2004. Your assistance in this very important matter is appreciated. Sincerely, Arden L. Bement, Jr. Director Enclosures NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 4201 WILSON BOULEVARD ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22230 SEARCH COMMITTEE REVIEW CRITERIA ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (BIO) We are seeking demonstrated evidence of ability in the following areas: Leading Change Ability to serve effectively as a member of NSF's senior leadership team, helping to develop consensus both within the directorate and across the agency on policy and plans. Working knowledge of the major current intellectual challenges and opportunities in the biological sciences and ability to foster creativity and innovation in formulating responses and leading change. Ability to develop and implement strategic plans that support research and education in the biological sciences disciplinary areas, promote opportunities for multidisciplinary research and partnerships, and integrate key national and program goals. Leading People and Programs Ability to provide results-driven leadership to an organization that includes diverse and complex program areas involved in close partnership and collaboration with other parts of the Foundation, the research community, other Federal agencies and interagency groups, and the international S&T community. Ability to lead and motivate an organization consisting of approximately 124 scientific and administrative personnel and to manage the organization’s human, financial, material and information resources. Representation/Building Coalitions Ability to serve as the senior spokesperson for the BIO Directorate and to communicate NSF policy and strategic plans effectively to the external community, including the public, the Congress, and scientific colleagues in other disciplines. Involves skill in negotiation and advocacy in complex situations involving diverse parties and interests. Credibility within Research and Education Community Deep sense of scholarship and significant scientific contributions to one or more of the biological sciences. Broad understanding of universities and other institutions where research and education in the biological sciences is conducted. Familiarity with the existing U.S. and international infrastructure that supports research and education in science and engineering. High level of professional recognition in the science community as evidenced by positions held, publications, and/or professional awards. Commitment Commitment to the goals of the NSF Strategic Plan, including the integration of research and education, and the ability to conceptualize the role of BIO in achieving those goals. Commitment to the employment and development of a highly qualified staff that reflects the diversity of our nation and to the equitable representation of underrepresented groups and institutions on advisory committees, in workshops, and proposal review panels. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 4201 WILSON BOULEVARD ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22230 The National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States Government. The agency’s vision is to enable the nation’s future through discovery, learning and innovation in science, engineering, mathematics and technology. It seeks to realize this vision through investment in people, ideas, and tools as articulated in NSF’s Strategic Plan (available for download at http://www.nsf.gov/od/gpra). NSF makes awards that total more than $5 billion annually with most support provided to researchers and educators who have submitted proposals that undergo merit evaluation based on peer review. The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) is one of seven NSF directorates and is organized into five divisions -- Biological Infrastructure; Environmental Biology; Emerging Frontiers; Integrative Biology and Neuroscience; Molecular and Cellular Biosciences -- and the Plant Genome Research Program. The Directorate employs approximately 124 employees and administers a budget of approximately $497 million for the five divisions and $89 million for the Plant Genome Research Program. The Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) supports varied activities that provide the infrastructure for contemporary research in biology. DBI is organized in two clusters -- research resources supports a range of activities including multi-user instrumentation, development of instruments with new capabilities, upgrades to biological field stations and marine laboratories, living stock collections, biological databases, and research collections; human resources centers on training scientists for the future, broadening participation and fostering integration of research and education through such activities as IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training), postdoctoral fellowships, RET (Research Training for Teachers), and REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates). The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. DEB is organized in four clusters -- ecosystem science which supports investigations of whole-system ecological processes and relationships in ecosystems across a diversity of spatial and temporal scales; ecological biology which supports studies of community ecology and population interactions that reveal causal mechanisms and patterns for a wide range of habitats and taxa; population and evolutionary processes which supports studies of population properties that lead to variation within and among populations; and systematic biology and biodiversity inventories which supports the general science of systematics, including the inventory of global species diversity and studies of predictive classification systems that reflect the history of life. Emerging Frontiers is a virtual division that supports multidisciplinary research opportunities and networking activities that arise from advances in disciplinary research, and includes such activities as FIBR (Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research), RCN (Research Coordination Networks), BE (Biocomplexity in the environment) and NSE (Nanoscale Science and Engineering). The Division of Integrative Biology and Neuroscience (IBN) is organized in three clusters -- developmental mechanisms, neuroscience, and physiology and ethology -- and supports research and related activities for the study of how complex organisms -- plants, animals, microbes -- work, with an emphasis on an integrative understanding of organisms as fundamental units of biological organization. The Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) is organized in three clusters -- biomoleuclar systems, cellular systems, and genes and genome systems -- and supports research that contributes to a fundamental understanding of life processes at the molecular, sub-cellular, and cellular levels. Proposals involving microbial biology, plant biology, and theoretical and computational aspects of molecular and cellular studies are particularly encouraged. The Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) is part of a national plant genome research initiative established by the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The long-term goal of this program is to understand the structure, organization and function of plant genomes important to agriculture, the environment, energy and health. The Assistant Director for Biological Sciences provides leadership and direction to National Science Foundation programs which support research and education in all fields of the biological sciences. The incumbent is responsible for planning and implementing programs, priorities, and policy within the framework of statutory and National Science Board authority. He or she must have outstanding leadership abilities; a deep sense of scholarship; a grasp of the opportunities and challenges facing the biological sciences in research and education; and a commitment to the goals and strategies of the National Science Foundation.