Associate Professor of Religion Janet Gyatso and Professor of Biology Paul Ewald, both tenured faculty members, have accepted positions at other institutions. Gyatso left the College after last semester to assume the role of Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies at the Harvard University Divinity School. Ewald said that he will move to the University of Louisville in July, though he has not officially notified the administration.

"These are tremendous losses," said President Tom Gerety, though he added that the College experiences such faculty changeover on a regular basis. "Looking over our recent history, we seem to have lost one or two every year or two."

Both Gyatso and Ewald emphasized the difficulty of their decisions.

"There aren't many places I would leave Amherst for," said Gyatso.

"It's a big loss for Amherst, but we can understand why she took this job," said Sarah Michelson '02, a former student of Gyatso's. "The job at Harvard is an incredible opportunity."

"I wasn't surprised by the offer," said Dean of the Faculty Lisa Raskin. "Janet has an excellent reputation in her field and is a beloved teacher. I was saddened, but not surprised that she decided to go to Harvard."

"I know the decision was a very difficult one for her," Raskin added. "She has strong ties to her Amherst department and to her students."

At the Harvard Divinity School, Gyatso will be working with the graduate program in Buddhist studies, teaching Tibetan literature. She said she looks forward to teaching an ethnically and socio-economically diverse student body.

"In the end, I think, she wanted to work with graduate students, and was attracted to the expanded community in religion that the divinity school offered," said Raskin.

Gyatso said that, though her new position will make her more available for contact and public statements, she will not be able to write as much.

Ewald said that his principal motivation for leaving the College was to devote more time to writing and reviewing grant proposals. He will have less of a teaching responsibility at the University of Lousiville-something the College would not grant-and will be part of a staff dedicated to recruiting the best professors for various "areas of the future," such as evolutionary medicine.

"In almost every instance, we seem to be in a position financially to meet the compensation," said Gerety. He added, however, that the College's commitment to undergraduate teaching often prevented the College from compromising on other issues. "In two of the offers this year, teaching load was an issue."

Ewald plans on pursuing large-scale research, which will require large sums of money, time and laboratory space, resources that he says are not sufficiently available at the College.

Raskin said that she had not been informed of Ewald's decision to leave. Professor of Biology David Ratner, chair of the department, also said that he had not been given official notification of Ewald's plans.

"Paul keeps telling us that he's going to go," said Ratner, "but I haven't seen a letter of resignation."

Although his offer came with a large increase in salary, Ewald claims that money played only a small role in his final decision. "I think Amherst would be happy to meet that [salary offer]," said Ewald. "They just couldn't reduce the teaching commitment. That's my read of it."

Ewald's work focuses on evolutionary medicine and the causes of various diseases, such as heart diseases and Alzheimer's, which he believes have infectious causes.

"His class is very shocking because he says things like homosexuality may be caused by an infection," said Alisa Neymark '05, who is currently enrolled in Biology 15: "Evolutionary Ecology of Disease."

Ewald said that he will miss certain aspects of the College when he assumes a role at the University.

"[Amherst] students get to know faculty and there isn't a scramble for attention," he said. "My colleagues in the biology department are wonderfully interesting, hardworking and dedicated. I love Amherst. It's been a wonderful way to spend these years."

According to Raskin, the College often loses faculty to institutions that offer different opportunities for research or teaching.

"Sometimes a faculty member leaves to pursue life in a different kind of institution, and there's not much we can do to dissuade a colleague under those circumstances," she said.

Raskin added that the College works to attract and retain the best faculty members.

"Amherst has many resources for faculty research, a substantial sabbatical program and bright, eager students in the classroom," she said. On the other hand, we always seek to keep our research facilities and resources, sabbatical programs and salaries strong and competitive."