In the spring of 1964, having qualified for a sabbattical leave from the University of Illinois and having recently completed two years as Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, I inquired of the NRAO staff as to whether a desk and possibly some augmentation of my University half-salary might be available at Green Bank for the following academic year. Instead I was invited to join the staff as a fulltime employee and to take a coordinating role in the development of the “very large array” as Chairman of the Design Committee. The University granted me a year’s leave of absence which eventually stretched to four years.