An Open Letter to Undergraduates:

This term, as I was facing the end of my associate professorship, almost 1200 of you signed a petition advocating that I be retained at Harvard. I was then, and remain now, deeply touched by this unusual outpouring of concern on my behalf. Throughout my eight years at Harvard, I have tried to serve the needs of students, as well as the demands of research and writing. In turn, I have been stimulated and refreshed by your interest in my field, psychobiology. Our interaction has provided me with a level of scholarly excitement that has been greater than I anticipated and more powerful than I imagined. To the undergraduate and graduate students who worked in my laboratory, to students who took my courses and liked the topic, to the students who signed that marvelous petition and to all Harvard students I have had the pleasure of knowing, I would like to say thank you for making my stay here a special experience. If this sounds like a goodbye, it is. With sadness, but without regrets, I will be leaving Harvard in June to take a professorship at another university. James R. Stellar   Associate Professor