March 4, 1981
Dear Tommy:
I want to let you know that our departmental faculty has proposed a change in the name of our department to "Molecular Biology and Genetics". Over the past decade our major strength has been in molecular and microbial genetics, and with the move to the Pre-clinical Teaching Building next year, we will be adding new staff interested in the molecular genetics of higher animals. These changes reflect the remarkable development of new genetic tools and the increasing importance of genetics to all of biology and medicine.
We discussed for some time whether to retain "Microbiology" in our department's name. The reason for not doing so is that for the future we want to emphasize the genetics of higher organisms even though we will retain an interest in microbes. The department will continue to teach basic microbiology, but we are discussing the possibility of establishing an administratively distinct unit in immunology. In the long run it may be desirable to re-establish a Department of Microbiology or Immunology and Microbiology.
With warm regards,
Sincerely,
Daniel Nathans