In 1989, Larry McLerran, whose research activity centered on high energy theoretical physics, became the first director of the TPI. It was decided at that time that the activities at the TPI would be evenly split between high energy physics and condensed matter physics. Very early in his tenure, Larry, in close collaboration with Gloria Lubkin, who was very active on the Oversight Committee, decided to take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by the break-up of the Soviet Union. In short order, five extremely creative and productive physicists were recruited from the former Soviet Union: Arkady Vainshtein, Boris Shklovskii, Leonid Glazman, Mikhail Shifman and Mikhail Voloshin. This group, together with the later additions of Anatoly Larkin and Keith Olive, formed the permanent membership of TPI.