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

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Developing and staffing the program 73demanded, “Would you like to eat this stuff?” Summoning his considerablepowers of diplomacy, McClung calmed the ruffled diner, who later became astrong supporter of IRRI — and no doubt less critical of its cuisine.The staff dining room was provided with excellent food and service.Occasionally, however, communications could break down there as they doeverywhere. For instance, when N. Parthasarathy, then rice specialist in theRegional Office of FAO, Bangkok, was visiting the Philippines, he was invitedto IRRI for lunch. I called the cafeteria office in the morning and announcedthat an Indian guest would be there for lunch and that any menu would besatisfactory as long as it contained no beef. I emphasized my request byrepeating, “anything but beef.” However, with my Maine accent and a habitof talking rapidly, all that got through to the person who received the call wasthe word beef. When the group sat down to lunch, neither chicken nor fish wasserved, but tenderloin steak. Much embarrassed, I assured my guest that hecould easily order something else from the kitchen. But Parthasarathy replied,“Don’t worry a bit. This is not an Indian cow, and I have no compunction abouteating a Philippine cow.”Pascual is still manager of the Food and Dormitory Services at IRRI and hasresponded with customary flexibility and skill to the increased demands onthose facilities brought about by IRRI’s greatly expanded size in recent years.Esguerra left in 1969 and was replaced by Ester Novero Nocon, who hadbeen on Pascual’s staff for several years as head food supervisor.OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONAn Office of Communication for IRRI was not established immediately but,rather, after a period of evolution. In the early stages, Wortman and I knew forcertain only that IRRI would need two nonresearch specialists, a photographerand an editor, whom we thought to attach to the Library and DocumentationCenter. The photographer would maintain a visual record of IRRI’s researchachievements, its important visitors, etc., and the editor would handle itspublications from manuscript form to final printing.With respect to the former, a young Filipino, Urbito Ongleo, had appearedat Chandler’s office in the Trinity Building in Manila in June 1961, showing asan example of his ability a photograph he had taken of IRRI’s service building.He had been graduated recently from the College of Agriculture at Los Bañosand was then working with his photographer brother in that community. Inthe course of his duties, he had developed an abiding interest in photographyand wished to make it his life work. I told him that IRRI did not yet need a staffphotographer, although it had made arrangements for a commercial photographerin Manila, V.G. Miller, to go to Los Baños occasionally to take picturesof the construction work then in progress. Suggesting that Ongleo keep intouch, I said I would be glad to give him consideration later in the year.From our separate assignments at the Mexican Agricultural Program of theRockefeller Foundation, Wortman and I knew the photographer Neil Maclelland.We asked the Foundation if it would send Maclelland to IRRI for a brief
74 History of the International Rice Research Instituteperiod to help plan the darkroom and to specify the equipment and suppliesthat would be needed. The Foundation agreed and Maclelland arrived inSeptember 1961 and stayed for 3 weeks. After interviewing several applicantsfor the position of photographer, he concluded that Ongleo was the bestqualified in the group. Based on that recommendation, IRRI hired Ongleo andattached him to the Library and Documentation Center.Ongleo is still at IRRI with the title of photography supervisor in the Officeof Information Services.When IRRI’s administrators first considered the position of editor, theythought to hire a Filipino. However, as they got acquainted with possiblecandidates, they realized that only unusually gifted individuals were skilledenough in English as a second language to be capable editors and that suchpersons already had careers as prominent writers or university professors. Itwas decided, therefore, to seek an editorial assistant who could handle someof the work and to search for a fully qualified editor from a country whereEnglish was the mother tongue. An advertisement placed in several Manilanewspapers describing the opening for an editorial assistant at IRRI broughtabout 30 letters of application, of which, surprisingly, only one was free ofgrammatical error. That exception was written by Cora V. Mendoza, who hadrecently been graduated from Santo Tomas University as an honor student inEnglish (and who was married to a staff member of the Forest ProductsResearch Institute at Los Baños). I interviewed her in September 1961 and hiredher for the Library and Documentation Center. Mendoza is still at IRRI asassistant editor in the Office of Information Services.When I was in New York in October 1962, to present to the RockefellerFoundation the 1963 operating budget estimate (only $515,000 in those days)and to interview candidates for IRRI staff openings, Moseman again provedhelpful. He reported having received an inquiry from a Francis C. Byrnes, whowas about to receive his Ph D degree from Michigan State University in thefield of communication, as to whether the Foundation might have an openingfor him. Moseman felt that his background, experience, and training wouldqualify him to take charge of IRRI’s editorial and publishing program.Arrangements were made for Byrnes and his wife to come to New York on15 October for an interview. When I described the duties of the post, Byrnesfrankly declared that he had been a qualified and experienced editor before hestarted his graduate studies at Michigan State and that now he was seeking aposition where he could exercise the training he had recently received in therather newly developed (and increasingly important, as it turned out) scienceof communication. He indicated that although he was investigating two otheropportunities, he would be interested in going to IRRI if the Institute wouldbroaden the responsibilities of the position so that he could play a role intraining, and in establishing better communication among scientists, extensiontechnicians, and farmers — and provided IRRI would hire others to takeresponsibility for the major load of strictly editorial work. I was impressedwith Byrnes' arguments for a communication program and agreed to implementit if he accepted the offer to join the Rockefeller Foundation with
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An Adventurein Applied Science:A HI
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ContentsDedication viiAbout this pu
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About this publication . . .In 20 y
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xiname, and release varieties. Thus
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PrefaceThe International Rice Resea
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CHAPTER 1An international institute
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An international institute for rice
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Page 38 and 39: An international institute for rice
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Early research and training results
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CHAPTER 5Financing of IRRIThe purpo
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Financing of IRRI 149foreign assist
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156 History of the International Ri
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Creation of other international cen
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Creation of other international cen
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Aerial view of IRRI in1981.However,
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IRRI today 181neering Department: K
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IRRI today 183In spite of this high
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IRRI today 185turn, received geneti
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IRRI today 1871. Research to assist
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Appendices 189materials could readi
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Appendix 2OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTINTER
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Appendices 193ate to concentrate on
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Appendices 195estimates for buildin
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Appendices 197(4) Development of pr
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Appendices 199was approved for the
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Appendices 201association, or perso
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Appendices 203b. To pass upon the b
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Appendices 205Article VIIMISCELLANE
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