January 9, 2004

Berkeley Denies Tenure to Ecologist Who Criticized University's Ties to the Biotechnology Industry

By SHARON WALSH

The University of California at Berkeley has denied tenure to Ignacio H. Chapela, an assistant professor of ecology and an outspoken critic of the university's ties to the biotechnology industry.

The professor and other scientists critical of academic links to corporations and of genetically modified crops have anxiously awaited the tenure decision for three years.

"My immediate reaction was extreme disappointment in the chancellor," said Mr. Chapela, who joined the university's