Science & Policy - Wolfle Lecture Series
The Dael L. Wolfle Lecture Series is made possible by the Dael L. Wolfle Endowment for Excellence in Public Affairs. The endowment was established in 1986 in recognition of Professor Wolfle's distinguished career and contributions to the field of science and public affairs. Its purpose is to bring distinguished scholars and practitioners in science and public policy to campus to share their ideas with the university community. Prior Wolfle lecturers have been Presidential Science Advisors, eminent researchers, and science administrators.

The 2005 Wolfle Lecture:

Science, Security and Secrecy

Dr. Donald Kennedy

Editor-in-Chief, Science
Bing Professor of Environmental Science
President Emeritus, Stanford University
May 5, 2005

Dr. Donald Kennedy Lecture

In this talk, Dr. Kennedy explored the history and some current manifestations of the long-standing misunderstanding and mistrust between scientists and those concerned with security. In the past this contest has involved the rights of scientists to publish freely, the ability of foreign-born scientists to work in laboratories on matters thought to be "sensitive", and various issues involving government efforts to define basic research activities into a new category, as "sensitive but not classified."

In the 1980's, the Department of Defense and the universities struggled over the application of controls to basic research, a struggle that ended with a National Security directive that there would be no restrictions short of classification. But the problem has re-emerged during this administration in various forms: the Wen Ho Lee case, the management of the "weapons laboratories" by the University of California , and the use by government funding agencies of various "sensitive but not classified" designations.

The same cultural gulf is seen in debates over what kinds of critical information should or should not be publishable in research journals, and in visa regulations and other policies applicable to the movement of scientists.

Plainly this problem exists in enlarged form for society as a whole: how much restriction in our personal liberties are we prepared to accept in order to feel safer by some marginal amount? It is a classic but unusually difficult cost/benefit decision.

About Dr. Donald Kennedy
Dr. Kennedy  received his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees in biology from Harvard. His research interests were originally in animal behavior and neurobiology: in particular, the mechanisms by which animals generate and control patterned motor output. His research group explored the relationship between central “commands” and sensory feedback in the control of locomotion, escape, and other behaviors in invertebrates. His present research program, conducted partially through the Institute of International Studies at Stanford University, consists of interdisciplinary studies on the development of policies regarding such trans-boundary environmental problems as: major land use changes; economically-driven alterations in agricultural practice; global climate change; and the development of regulatory policies. Although these interests remain, they have been overtaken by a deeper concern with ecology and environmental policy. In 1977, Dr. Kennedy took a 2-1/2 year leave to serve as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This followed an increasing academic interest in regulatory policy regarding health and the environment, which included the chairmanship of a National Academy of Sciences study on alternatives to pesticide use and membership on the World Food and Nutrition Study.

Following his return to Stanford in 1979, Dr. Kennedy served for a year as Provost and for twelve years as President. During that time he continued to work on health and environmental policy issues, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Health Effects Institute, Clean Sites, Inc. and the California Nature Conservancy. Dr. Kennedy is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

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About Dael L. Wolfle, Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs
Dael Lee Wolfle, Professor Emeritus at the Evans School, died in 2002. Professor Wolfle’s distinguished career spanning more than half a century has had a lasting impact in the field of science and public policy.

Born in Puyallup, Washington in 1906, Professor Wolfle completed his undergraduate education at the University of Washington and was awarded his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Ohio State University in 1931. After an array of impressive and challenging academic and public service positions, Professor Wolfle returned to the (then named) Graduate School of Public Affairs in 1970. He went on teaching and preparing students for all levels of public administration into his retirement, teaching his last organized seminar in 1996.

Professor Wolfle began his career with an appointment to found the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi. During World War II he served as civilian training administrator for the United States Army Signal Corps and as a technical aide for the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Later he spent nearly 16 years as Executive Director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and publisher of the prestigious Science magazine.

Throughout his career, Professor Wolfle provided expertise to a wide range of committees and advisory panels including the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, UNESCO, the U.S. Office of Education, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the President’s Committee on Scientists and Engineers, the President’s Science Advisory Committee, the Pacific Science Center, the Russell Sage Foundation, the American Medical Association, and the American Cancer Society. He published numerous articles and books on the discovery and use of scientific talent and received many honors and awards, including the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus award from the University of Washington in 1979.

Survived by four children, six grandchildren and two nephews, Professor Wolfle also leaves behind his legacy of distinguished public service and significant contributions to the field of science and public policy. His legacy and contributions will endure through the many students he taught, his achievements in the field of science and public policy, and through the Wolfle Endowment for Public Affairs—all imbued with the sense of quality and service that Professor Wolfle personified throughout his career.

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