An adventure in applied science - IRRI books - International Rice ...

24 History of the International Rice Research InstituteDuring the 21 years of the Institute’s existence, there have been fivepresidents of the University of the Philippines and thus, concurrently, membersof the IRRI Board of Trustees. Sinco served through 1962 and was replacedby Carlos P. Romulo, who remained until 1968. He was followed by SalvadorP. Lopez, who was on the Board until 1974 and was succeeded by Onofre D.Corpuz, who served through 1978, when he was appointed Minister ofEducation. Corpuz was followed by Emanuel Soriano, who was succeeded byEdgardo Angara in 1981.Another varying member on the IRRI Board has been the representativefrom the Rockefeller Foundation. Soon after President Rusk was namedsecretary of State by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the foundation’s Boardappointed Harrar as Rusk’s successor. Despite his heavy duties as president ofthe Rockefeller Foundation, Harrar served as chairman of the IRRI Boardthrough the third meeting of the Board, which was held in Los Baños on 5February 1962, just before the inaugural ceremonies of the Institute.Before the fourth meeting of the Board, on 8 January 1963, Harrar haddecided that there could be a conflict of interests in his serving concurrently onIRRI’s Board of Trustees and as president of an organization that was a majordonor. He consequently tendered his resignation as chairman and as memberof the Board.To fill the Harrar vacancy, the Rockefeller Foundation designated Albert H.Moseman, who was then director for agricultural sciences of the foundation.Moseman served until 1966 when he left the foundation at the urging of theUnited States Agency for International Development to accept a key assignmentin Washington. The Rockefeller Foundation’s next representative wasRalph W. Cummings, Sr., at the time director of its Indian AgriculturalProgram. In 1968, Cummings left the foundation to take a major administrativepost at North Carolina State University and Wortman, then director for theagricultural sciences of the Rockefeller Foundation, was designated as itsrepresentative on IRRI’s Board. Wortman served for 2 years until he was madevice president of the foundation, at which time Clarence C. Gray III, associatedirector for agricultural sciences, was named as the foundation’s representative.Gray is now chairman of the IRRI Board of Trustees.The Ford Foundation, on the other hand, has had only two representativeson IRRI’s Board. Hill, who was a charter member in 1960, continued on theBoard until 1978, the longest term of service of any member. When Harrarresigned in 1963, Hill was elected chairman and served in that capacity, withsteadfast dedication and enthusiasm for 15 years. After Hill retired, of his ownchoosing in February 1978, Norman Collins, who was in charge of the FordFoundation’s agricultural program in India, was named as the foundation’srepresentative on the Board.The only other ex-officio member of IRRI’s Board of Trustees is the Institute’sdirector, of which to date there have been four. I served in that capacityfrom 1960 to mid-1972, when I reached the customary retirement age of 65. Iwas followed for a short period by Ralph W. Cummings, Sr., who left at theurgent behest of the Government of India and the trustees of the newly formed