Jonathan Dorfan, the director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), made a stunning announcement this morning - he is stepping down from the laboratory directorship this Fall. This news is certainly a surprise - at least to me! It seems that this decision is all about timing. This Fall marks Jonathan’s 8^th year as laboratory director, as his tenure began in the Fall of 1999. Factor in that Jonathan has said he believes change at the top is healthy for large organizations and when he accepted the directorship he stated his intent to serve only for 8 to 10 years. Couple this to the fact that SLAC’s contract with the Department of Energy will be sent out for bids and competed against in about two years time. And recall that when a new contract is drawn for the lab in this two years time, one condition of the contract is that the lab’s directorship must pledge service (i.e., stay in place) for an additional five years. Jonathan apparently looked at the numbers and decided that now is the right time to step down.

Stanford University President John Hennessy said, “Jonathan Dorfan’s tenure at SLAC has been characterized by exceptional scientific vision and foresight. He deserves our thanks—and those of the greater scientific community.”

During Jonathan’s tenure, he has accomplished many things, including:

The Stanford President has asked Persis Drell, deputy director of SLAC, to head the search committee for Jonathan’s replacement. The committee will be established shortly, will conduct a world-wide search and report back to the President. Jonathan will remain on the SLAC faculty and will no doubt become actively involved in actually doing science again.

Best wishes to Jonathan, and thanks for what you’ve done!