Interview with David Baltimore - Caltech Oral Histories

Baltimore-70
LIPPINCOTT: Were they trustees, do you remember, or faculty Because there were two
separate committees.
BALTIMORE: Well, they were faculty. There are two separate committees, but the trustees’
committee doesn’t do any of the searching, although they may enter into interviews, I suppose,
with the faculty. But the faculty does all the research, which is a remarkable process. There’s no
other school I know of where the trustees trust the faculty so completely to bring them the right
candidates. And I said no, I really didn’t want to, at that point, take on Caltech. But people
remembered that interview, because I guess I was fairly candid about some things. [Laughter]
I’ve heard about it since. And then when Kip called—I think it was Kip who called—it was a
total surprise because I wasn’t looking for another job. I’d pretty well decided that I wasn’t
going to run anything anymore.
LIPPINCOTT: Was this because of your battering
BALTIMORE: Yes, the experience around Rockefeller and the Imanishi-Kari situation really left
me feeling— First of all, it seemed unlikely that anybody would want me, given the trouble that
I had gotten into.
LIPPINCOTT: Well, the publicity, some of which was not very flattering—
BALTIMORE: That’s right. That’s right. So I guess I, without thinking about it terribly hard—
because I had never defined myself around my administrative activities—I defined myself
around the science I was doing. And MIT had very kindly given me the opportunity to continue
my science in a quite effective situation. So that seemed like a good life.
LIPPINCOTT: I’ve just remembered, now, that when I looked at Mel [Melvin I.] Simon’s
[Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences, emeritus] oral history, I think he said he got in touch
with you. Did he bring this up with you I think he says something about that in his oral history.
Does that ring any bells