More on the Center for Capacity Building

I mentioned last week that the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) closed its Center for Capacity Building in response to continuing budget cuts. Today's Nature has more details about the closure and its consequences. Here are a couple of the key paragraphs.

[T]he lay-off of Mickey Glantz, a high-profile researcher who has chalked up some 34 years at the institution, has raised questions about whether NCAR is turning its back on the social sciences at a time when international efforts are focusing on mitigation and adaptation. Certainly Glantz believes this is the case, saying budgets are just an excuse and that the leadership is defensively "circling the wagons". His dismissal is tied to NCAR's announcement last week that it is shutting its Center for Capacity Building, the highly respected outreach programme that Glantz has run since 2005.

But others associated with the programme say they believe the NCAR leadership still backs them despite its budgetary problems. "I don't think this has anything to do with shutting down social science at NCAR," says Linda Mearns, who recently stepped down as director of the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment there. Mearns says social scientists within the institute will continue to work with physical scientists at NCAR on integrated research projects. "And that's the proper role for an institute in social science at NCAR."