Sir

As vice-president of public affairs at Arizona State University (ASU), I would like to give a different account of recent events from that put forward in Correspondence by Carl Djerassi ('Not so sunny view of the events in Arizona' Nature 447, 1052; doi:10.1038/4471052c 2007).

At ASU, as at most American research universities, positions funded by external grants are completely dependent on that funding. Robert Pettit, former director of the university's Cancer Research Institute (CRI), attempted to secure funding to continue his research, submitting proposals to both the National Cancer Institute and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, but these were not selected by those agencies from among the many competing proposals. That is the sole reason why 22 staff and seven students working on Pettit's research team (not 60 individuals as Djerassi indicates) had to be reassigned or released.

The affected individuals were given a 30-day notice of termination and offered outplacement support. Of the 22 permanent staff, seven were placed in comparable positions at ASU and two chose to retire.

Pettit remains a Regents professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry with tenure at ASU. The non-renewal of his year-to-year administrative appointment as director of CRI was based on findings by the university provost, among other things, that Pettit had contravened policies of the Arizona Board of Regents and ASU.