William Hylander, professor of biological anthropology, has been given the task of revitalizing the Primate Center as its new director, Provost Peter Lange announced Tuesday.
Hylander will succeed Ken Glander, who will step down July 1 following two reviews of the department that convinced administrators the center focuses too heavily on conservationist programs.
"We have given [Hylander] the charge to go out and build a research program," said Lange, who has asked the new director to develop a strategic plan for the center by Nov. 15, 2002.
Hylander, who researches the evolution of primates' faces, is currently vacationing in Canada and could not be reached for comment.
To aid revitalization efforts, Lange said the University will invest $350,000 for temporary winterization measures for the animals and another $300,000 for new research projects. The center has a $1.2 million dollar annual budget, $800,000 of which is provided by the University.
After three years, Lange said he will evaluate the center's fate based on several factors: whether it has successfully renewed the $300,000 annual grant from the National Science Foundation, obtained a substantial amount of additional research grants, created more inventive educational programs for undergraduate students and formed an advisory committee to develop new initiatives.
Lange said achieving these goals will be no simple task.
"[Hylander is] going to have to be very aggressive in his outreach to researchers, and he's probably going to have some research space issues."
The center, originally built for two professors' research in 1966, now accommodates about 300 prosimian primates and an extensive fossil collection, but the center's physical facility has not kept up with growing space demands.
Primate Center employees, many of whom were unhappy with the administration's lack of communication with them, seemed satisfied with Hylander's appointment.
"I think everybody is ready to get behind him so he can succeed, and we can succeed, and the animals can flourish," said staff specialist Dorothy Clark.
Tuesday morning, Lange and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William Chafe met with the staff to discuss the appointment and the administration's plans for the Primate Center.
"It was good to have them come. We have a better idea of what we can expect now and what we can and can't do to meet the goals they have," Clark added.
Heather Thomas, tour coordinator for the center, said she was glad to hear from the administrators that Hylander would be given extra funding but added that some employees were anxious for the new director to take over so he can begin making critical decisions.
One such decision will be how to balance conservationist education with academic research--the center's lemurs are not only studied by professors but are also shown to visitors as a means of education about endangered animals.
Lange said conservation efforts are currently overemphasized--they fit the center's mission "because these animals are a research resource and many of the species are an endangered resource." But potential conservation program cuts have been left to Hylander's discretion.
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