California controller Chiang on stem cell agency: 'Let the management manage'

The board overseeing California’s stem cell research funding agency should redefine the role of its chairman and “let the management manage,” state Controller John Chiang said Wednesday in a letter to board members.
“The (board’s) most important role — to provide independent oversight of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) management — is severely compromised when that management includes the (board) chair,” Chiang wrote.
The issue has come to a head as CIRM Chairman Klein prepares to step down from the position. He was supposed to leave the post in December, but questions arose about his hand-picked successor and the process used to select a new chairman.