At the staff "town meeting" on 29 November 2000, NCAR director Tim Killeen quoted from a 1959 "Blue Book" the "four compelling reasons for establishing a National Institute for Atmospheric Research": The need to mount an attack on the fundamental atmospheric problems on a scale commensurate with their global nature and importance. The fact that the extent of such an attack requires facilities and technological assistance beyond those that can properly be made available at individual universities. The fact that the difficulties of the problems are such that they require the best talents from various disciplines to be applied to them in a coordinated fashion, on a scale not feasible in a university department. The fact that such an Institute offers the possibility of preserving the natural alliance of research and education without unbalancing the university programs. Back to "Tim Killeen shares his vision of NCAR, present and future"