Document ykobVXZ1yNG5xyMxo8mgr7a9d

ESSO RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY MEDICAL RESEARCH DIVISION P. O. BOX 45, LINDEN, N. J. 07036 March 2, 1965 Dr. Robert A. Kehoe University of Cincinnati The Kettering Laboratory College of Medicine - Eden Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 Dear Bob} Thank you so much for your letter of February 26 concerning the lead on the earth's surface. I was sure that your conclusions would be as they were, but I th^nk that these expressions by you will be most reassuring to our manage ment andmuch more so than if they were to come from me. I was somewhat surprised by your opening paragraph since I have never had anything but the highest esteem for you, your work, and your institute. Nothing that I know can change this, and I shall always value your advice, criticisn}, and opinions. I had a very definite feeling on my last visit to Cincinnati that I scared oi\f the Selection Committee because they thought I had delusions of building |a tremendous empire of which they as department heads might be envious. I personally believe that the field of environmental health, in which I place occupational health as only one facet, is perhaps the most important field facing mankind t1pday and that the institute which you started in Cincinnati should become th||a foremost institute in this field and the whole world. I could not accept De an Grulpe's concept that this institute must "remain in balance" with the other departments of the Medical School. In my years with Esso Research I have seen many changes here within our own Company which will require increasing scrut iny before they become generalized. I am sure that our Company is not alone in phis and that therefore the problems of our environment are going to get much jrorse before they begin to get better. This.is particularly true, I believej Tpecause the medical profession in general still thinks in the form of classicaljdiseases and is overlooking far too much the influence of the environ ment on tipe individual, both the physical and the psychological environments. As I told the Selection Committee on my last visit with them, I have a most satisfactory and satisfying job here with Esso Research which pays me far more than I would expect to get as a professor in a university. There fore, the only incentive for me to change would have been because of a challenge which was presented. If I were to be fought every step of the way in attempting to meet this challenge by people whose vision I believe is somewhat restricted, then I would not feel it very worthwhile to make a change. I made it quite clear to qhe Selection Committee that I was not interested in coming to 2- - Cincinnati; unless I had .full support from each of them, and the rather cold way in which this concept was received by them indicated to me that I could not have anticipated their full support. Therefore, it is very likely that had the position in Cincinnati been offered to me I probably would not have accepted it, at least without having another visit to the University to rediscuss this phase of the situation. [None of this I felt had anything to do with you and my respect and regard for you remains as high as it has always been, and I would always hope to seek you out and seek your advice on any additional challenges that X would be presented iwith in the future. IBest personal regards. Sincerely yours, REE:bsn R. E. ECKARDT, M.D. Director Ke 0015395