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Life Sciences Institute Shakes Up Its Board

Posted on: Friday, 23 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 24--A board shake-up at the Kansas City Life Sciences Institute is designed to increase independent decision making about the institute's advocacy for life science research and development.

Irvine O. Hockaday Jr., the institute's newly appointed board chairman, said he is directing a board realignment that will "increase the level of independence and disinterest that allows you to be objective in evaluating one priority against the next."

The life sciences institute was established five years ago to support and coordinate bioscience research and development at area universities, medical centers and research institutes.

It has a $1 million annual budget, financed by grants from the Hall Family Foundation, the H&R Block Foundation, the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and other donors.

Hockaday's new stance means that William Neaves, chief executive officer of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Robert Hemenway, chancellor of the University of Kansas, among others, are no longer on the board.

"These are terrific people," Hockaday said. "But it wasn't fair to ask Stowers or KU to vote on community priorities. It should not be perceived, for example, that Stowers runs the Kansas City Life Sciences Institute."

Hemenway said the decision was "absolutely the right way to go." The KU chancellor said he agreed that "it would be better if potential recipients of institute funds were not on the board because of perceived conflicts of interest."

Neaves was unavailable for comment.

Hockaday said he wants to appoint some Kansas City area civic leaders and businesspeople with commercial or venture capital experience in the bioscience sector but with less perceived self interest for single institutions.

Also as part of the redirection, the University of Missouri-Columbia and Kansas State University have been added as what the institute calls its stakeholders.

Keith Gary, director of program development at the institute, said the addition allows MU and K-State scientists to be included in the institute's database to identify talent and research projects -- as well as increase their grant eligibility -- in the institute's focus areas.

Hockaday said he is particularly interested in plugging into K-State's work in agro-terrorism.

MU and K-State join the University of Kansas, the University of Kansas Medical Center, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences, Midwest Research Institute, Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, and St. Luke's Health System as participating beneficiaries of the institute's focus.

Since 2000, the institute has raised about $30 million and allocated $26.2 million to projects at stakeholder institutions.

The revamped institute board reflects a Civic Council focus on the life sciences. The Civic Council, an organization of top executives in the metropolitan area, has been trying to define what kinds of life sciences are important for the area to pursue or protect. Hockaday has been leading that effort.

"Hockaday is a great civic leader, and for him to be willing to take on this position speaks volumes about the importance of the institute," Hemenway said.

The backing of the Civic Council is important, because its members control philanthropic purse strings and are powerful forces in directing community priorities.

Hockaday said his mission was to broaden public awareness about life sciences while narrowing the institute's focus on specific, viable areas of life science research and development.

"There's an understandable tendency to think of 'life sciences' only as stem cell research," Hockaday said. "In fact, life sciences is one huge terrain ... and we need a communications plan that would explain the potential of all kinds of work being done in health and quality of life for humans, plants and animals."

That direction puts the focus on animal health, health care information systems, bio-pharma drugs, oncology, cardiovascular research and neuroscience, Gary said.

In addition to Hockaday, new members of the institute board are Bill Duncan, president of the institute, and Joerg Ohle, president of Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division.

Continuing board members are Thomas McDonnell, chief executive of DST Systems Inc.; James Spigarelli, chief executive of Midwest Research Institute; William Berkley, chief executive of Tension Envelope Corp.; and Robert Kipp, retired vice president of Hallmark Cards Inc. and former city manager of Kansas City.

Others no longer on the board include Frank Salizzoni, retired chairman of H&R Block, and Martha Gilliland, former UMKC chancellor.

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Source: The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)

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