New CEO, new IACUC?

There had been rumors for some time that the Board of Trustees was about to replace Edna Gordon as president of Great Eastern University. It wasn’t that Gordon did any-thing wrong; it was more that she didn’t do much of anything at all. The university had languished under her presidency and some board members had been hinting that new blood was needed. Then, unexpectedly, Gordon announced her resignation, saying that she would be leaving in six months to become the president of another academic institution.None of this raised any eyebrows on Great Eastern’s IACUC; the Committee members had seen presidents come and go over the years. For the IACUC, it seemed like busi-ness as usual, until one of the newer mem-bers raised an unusual issue. Doug Daniels, who considered himself well-versed in the federal regulations governing IACUCs, asked if there would be any change to the Committee’s membership.“No, I haven’t heard anything—but why are you asking?” said Dave Hammill, the IACUC Chairman.“Well,” said Daniels, “the Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWRs) say that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appoints the IACUC, and since the new president will also be our CEO, doesn’t the new president have to reappoint the IACUC?”“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” said Hammill. “In any case, President Gordon appointed Vice-President for Research John O’Connor as the Institutional Official (IO) and you may recall that under the Public Health Service