On Oct 17, 2013, at 1:11 PM, Melinda Shore <melinda.shore@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I suspect that there are companies out there who would view > this as giving them better "access" (i.e. the ability to apply > political pressure). Not really very fond of this idea. It would have to be a formal commitment of resources that couldn't be rescinded for the duration of the AD's term. I suppose there would still be the possibility of the AD doing something to try to retain the position after the end of the term, but I think the job is not so much fun that this would be a real issue. I think the current funding mechanism creates a much more substantial possibility of companies thinking they will get "access," because in fact they do. I have heard of at least one former AD being influenced in this way (no, I won't tell you which one, and I don't have proof that it happened, just hearsay).